


My Only Sunshine

by AberrantScript



Category: The Loud House (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Attempted Murder, Blood and Violence, Child Death, Crying, Death, F/F, F/M, Loss of Innocence, Murder, Poisoning, Rape, Suicide, Suicide Attempt, Yandere, Yandere Leni Loud
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-10
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2019-01-15 21:28:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 15
Words: 40,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12329217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AberrantScript/pseuds/AberrantScript
Summary: When Lori moves out, Leni is unable to handle the sudden loss of her roommate. When Lincoln accidentally stumbles on one of Leni's traumatic episodes, he begins to realize that something terrible happened to his sister. He unknowingly sets off a chain of events that will forever change their lives. This is a yandere!Leni story with very dark themes.





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: _The Loud House_ Copyright Nickelodeon (2017)

* * *

" _You are my sunshine; my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away._ "

-Johnny Cash

* * *

MY ONLY SUNSHINE

The blonde-haired angel sat at her desk, staring absently into the reflective surface of her mirror. She watched as her hand brushed silken hair of its own accord, her other hand pulling the locks into place for each stroke of plastic bristles.

An action done more times than could be counted. So familiar. So relaxing.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, her hands still working on muscle memory alone.

It had been months since Lori moved out and still, even after all that time had passed, she felt that dull, cold ache in her pumping heart. It didn't matter how many times she thought of it. It wouldn't change the fact that Lori was gone. That she left her sister behind.

_...that she left m-me behind._

The brush clattered against the desk, knocking over a bottle of perfume.

_Was I not good enough!? Did I not love her enough!?_

Her eyes clenched tighter as the tears began to fall. Her nails dug deeply into the grainy grooves she'd made in the wooden furniture until they bled. A loud sob filled the emptiness of the hollow room, bouncing around the lifeless walls, and returned to pound against her eardrums.

_You're not good enough, Leni~_

Her bloody nails tore into her hair, throwing her sunglasses onto the floor. They scraped against her scalp painfully, trying to dig out that horrible voice.

_You were never loving enough~_

A small trail of tears curled across her lips as she let out trilling cries, dripping off her chin into her lap.

_That's why I left you behind, dear sister~_

She threw her hands down onto the desk, pounding at it as glass crashed onto the floor, filling the air with the harsh mixture of her perfumes.

Her soaking eyes blinked open to glare at the mirror. And she gasped when she saw Lori standing behind her.

A sneer curling at her lips, her nose twitching in distaste, the older girl picked up a lock of her sister's hair to gaze at the darkening blood smeared in it. With bland, soulless eyes she ripped the strands out; Leni crying out and hugging her trembling arms to herself.

"L-L-Lori!?"

The older girl hung that bloodied lock before her eyes, staring at it with sharp eyes before turning back toward the mirror.

Leni gasped when her sister threw away the hair uncaringly. A startled cry escaped her lips when Lori snatched her shoulder with her claws, digging past her nightgown, drawing blood.

"Do you know why I really left you, Leni?"

Leni tried to pry her sister's hands away.

"L-Lori, p-please! You're hurting me!"

Those nails pushed harder; Lori grinned as her sister cried out.

"Because you're _worthless._ "

Leni's pink, teary eyes stared at her sister's cruel ones, her heart shattering into icy dust.

"Y-you don't mean-"

She paused when she felt a hand betwixt her breasts, five sharp nails pressing harshly against her gown, her skin, _her heart…_

Lori leaned down to breath in her sister's quivering ear.

" _I want you to die, Leni…_ "

Those talons pressed harder, scraping her skin raw as blood oozed onto her nightgown's front.

" _I want to watch as the light in your eyes fades away…_ "

Leni closed her eyes to escape it, but the pain was still there. The breathless laughter of her sister in one ear, her own agonized moaning in the other. The smell of blood and sweat filled her nostrils and it sickened her stomach.

Lori ran her other hand along that defenseless plane of skin below Leni's jawline, her nails scraping four jagged lines.

" _I want to watch as your soul leaves your body_ …"

Lori placed a tender kiss on her sister's wet cheek, smudging the tears that had grown stagnant there.

" _I want to carry you to the pit of Hell…_ "

Leni blinked her eyes open to see her sister leaning over her shoulder, the bloody lines on her neck, the red spots in her gown on her shoulder, and that hand against her heart… feeling almost as if it had raked against bone.

" _And I will cherish your screams, as you fall into a lake of fire, until the end of my days._ "

Leni thrashed against her sister's weight, tipping the chair onto its back. She fell out of the seat, her spine crushing her sunglasses away. Gritting her teeth, she rolled around, pushing at her sister's strong arms.

" _The only thing you'll ever be good for is dying, my sweet, worthless Leni~_ "

"Get off of me!"

She bashed her head against the bedframe, an angry bruise forming on her temple. She scrambled to her feet and ran to the door, her bloodied hands slipping against the handle. She turned her frantic eyes around the room but couldn't see anything. But she could hear her; that cruel laughter coursing through her body.

"P-p-please open!"

Just then it finally gave way and Leni ran into the hallway, almost immediately crashing into someone; them falling into a heap on the ground.

She hugged herself tightly to the warm body below her as her tears fell upon the squirming face beneath her cheek.

"L-Leni! What happened!?"

She nuzzled into him, her lips grazing across his own. She heard his breath hitch but paid no mind as she wrapped her leg around his, pressing as hard into his lively body as she possibly could.

"I-I… I had a nightmare, I think…"

He squeaked out a gasp when her thigh dug into his crotch, almost crushing his parts as she squeezed his body to his. But that was thrown from his mind when he felt her blood drip onto his neck, smear against his temple. He strained his neck to see it, but when he did he gasped at the dark red streaks running through her blonde hair.

"Leni! H-how- _why are you bleeding!?_ "

He felt her tremble suddenly, from head to toe, before she squeezed him tighter to herself.

"I… I fell."

He squinted his eyes even as he struggled to catch his breath. _Obviously, that's a lie._ But it was so uncharacteristic of his sister. _Why…?_

He nearly choked out a gasp when her thigh pressed more urgently against his fledgling boy parts. " _L-Leni!_ " A tear fell from his eyes in sympathy for his groin.

She rubbed her face against his, her lips grazing across his mouth, his cheek, and his ear in one smooth motion. "Oh, Lincy. _You're so warm~_ "

He tried to push her off, but she was too strong for him. "C-come on, Leni… I need to clean you up."

She whined pitifully in his ear, the sound tickling his lobe. "I don't wanna move!"

Lincoln somehow managed to turn her face toward his, and he was startled by how sullen they looked. Almost _haunted…_

"P-please, Leni… f-for me?"

She watched him as he pouted at her and her heart melted at the sight…

And that's when it struck her like a lightning bolt, leaving her speechless. _Her voice is gone..._

Her arms fell limp, releasing her brother from her grasp. Her mind was numb to the sensations of him picking her up and leaning her upon his shoulder.

She didn't know when they entered the bathroom.

…when Lincoln cleaned the dried blood from her hair with loving hands.

…when applied cream to the bruise on her temple.

…when he gave her a cup of water with crushed up pain medicine stirred in.

No. The next thing Leni would remember was that life-changing moment when Lincoln led her back to her bedroom, and she suddenly grabbed his forearm with a shaky hand.

And she turned to him with scared eyes.

"Stay with me tonight… _Please!_ "

He sighed, but his brotherly instincts sent him on autopilot as he followed her inside.

He had no idea what truly happened, but similarly he had no wish to see her… t-to see her covered in so much blood ever again.

Leni trudged over to her dresser and extracted another nightgown.

During those few unsupervised seconds, Lincoln walked over to Lori's bed and placed a hand on the sheet, imagining the warmth it would hold when his oldest sister sat and texted late into the twilight hours.

Leni's bloodied gown was on the floor, her body bare except for a pair of panties, when she lifted up the new gown above her head. But when she saw his hand on _her_ sheets, a darkness spread across her irises.

Lincoln was only reminiscing about his sister when in a flash he felt nails dig into the skin of his forearm. He bit his tongue to keep in his startled scream, turning his eyes on his sister. A deep blush covered his cheeks when he came face to face with her naked chest… though that was short-lived when he found himself pinned by an angry glare.

" _Don't. Touch. That. Ever. Again._ "

She through his arm away from her when she saw the color drain from his face; a tiny nod following.

She strutted over to her fallen gown and slipped it over her body, unnoticing the turmoil of emotions racing across her brother's face.

Once her gown was on she turned again, seeing her brother standing timidly beside her bed. And she smiled warmly at him as she walked back to him with open arms.

She cuddled his pale face to her chest, feeling his racing heart and sweating forehead against her body. And she was touched that he was reacting that way to seeing her change… a normal healthy boy's reactions; so he must think she's pretty.

She pulled away to look into his wide eyes. He looked so frightened, so pale… huh, he must be afraid to make the first move.

Smiling innocently, she decided to indulge his fantasy. She leant in with puckered lips…

Lincoln hurriedly turned his cheek in the way to catch her hot lips, his body shivering as ice formed in his stomach.

_What is going on!?_

Leni pulled back and smiled at the pink tinge on his cheeks left by her impact. She'd felt him shiver in ecstasy.

_Maybe if you're a good boy, I'll let you kiss me in return._

"Are you ready for bed, Lincy?"

He waited several seconds before nodding his head, nearly biting his tongue between his shaking teeth when she lifted him onto the bed.

She came around the other side and lifted herself onto the bed. She laid down and spooned her brother from behind, throwing the sheets over them.

He quivered beneath her arms. "L-Leni, what's going on?"

She brushed his bangs from his ear, laying a kiss against the cool skin. "Hush now and sleep."

"O-ok…"

She hummed and stroked his arms. She sighed when she felt his heart finally settle down, heard his breathing even out into a deep rhythm. She smiled down at her brother.

"Lincoln." She kissed his temple. "You'll never know how thankful I am you came to my rescue tonight." She shivered in memory, her toes curling.

She stroked his cheek lovingly. "You'll never know how much I love you."

Her eyes closed tightly, tears beginning to fall unwillingly. "You are my sunshine, Lincoln…"

She clung tightly to him as her body fell into a fitful slumber.

… _and I'll never let anyone take my sunshine away ever again._

* * *

The room was pitch black.

On her bed, a girl cried into the sheets. Her shoulders trembled as a small stream of tears pooled into a depression in the bed.

Her body froze stiffly when a hand pushed down on her back.

Her breath caught in her dry throat when a knee swung over to straddle her, a weight pressing her legs firmly into the mattress. That hand pressed stronger as a body leaned over her back.

She felt hair begin to tickle her neck and an uncontrollable shiver ran up her spine as she tried and failed to keep more tears from falling down her wet cheeks.

Breaths puffed against her ear and without her permission she felt her core issue a faint tingle.

She tried to push her face into the mattress to hide her burning shame, but her sister fisted her blonde hair tightly, tearing some from their very roots.

" _Leni, why are you crying?_ "

She gasped when her hand tugged on her hair again, bending her neck sharply up. She held her eyes tightly shut even as the tears fell harder, dripping down her chin and pooling into the sheets.

"I-I don't want to do this anymore, Lori!"

Leni cried out when her sister tightened her fist, feeling more hairs get yanked from her scalp. That breathy air puffed repeatedly into her ear.

" _You don't w-want to love y-your sister anymore?_ "

Leni's heart clenched at the broken voice.

"I-I'll always love you... b-but I don't want- _Ahh!_ "

Lori's hand pushed through her dress and panties, pressing painfully against her lower lips, fabric and all.

" _You love me and only me, Leni._ "

Leni gasped painfully when her sister's nails scraped over her sensitive parts through her clothes. "P-please, Lori, you're h-hurting me..."

Lori's other hand let go of Leni's hair; the girl's head suddenly dropping onto the mattress with a gasp of surprise. Before she could move, Lori's hand gripped her neck, the fingers digging into the side muscles, and pressed her firmly into the sheets.

" _The only way you can love me is with your body, Leni._ "

Her hand hiked up the dress and pushed panties aside, a long nail poised at a pink entrance.

Leni's sobs shook her body. "P-please, Lori! S-stop! I don't want this!"

Lori stared at her quivering back, feeling her neck shake beneath her strong hand.

"This isn't about what you want, Leni. _It was never about what you wanted!_ "

And without preamble she drove her nail in, cutting her sister's wet flesh as she plunged in, over and over.

Lori leant down and kissed her sister's shoulder.

" _You have to love me with your body, Leni..._ "

She smiled darkly when Leni gave an unwilling gasp, when she felt Leni try to stiffen her legs to still her instinctual humping.

" _...because the rest of you is worthless._ "

Leni's gasps increased with each thrust of finger against bleeding flesh; her shame increasing at the same rate as her arousal.

" _P-p-please stop! P-please don't make me-_ "

Lori twisted a second finger harshly into her sister, her own body shivering at her sister's pained cry.

" _You will cum, Leni, because that's the only thing you're good for. To please me. To love me with your body. You love your sister, don't you, Leni?_ "

Leni choked on her tears, losing control of her hips... finally letting them bump into her sister's hand.

When she screamed into the sheets, she was suddenly thrown to the side, onto her back.

And her watery eyes blinked when they saw the scared face of her brother; him looking at her with such concern and such love that she began crying again, reaching out to hug him to her body.

"Leni?" came his timid voice from her breasts.

She cried into his hair, stroking his back and neck for warm.

"I'm sorry, Lincy. _I'm sooo sorry!_ "

He rubbed his hand along her side, feeling her nightgown slick with sweat.

"It's ok, Leni. Just go back to sleep. It'll be ok."

She pulled his head to her lips, brushing them against his hair.

"You're my sunshine, Lincy. _Please don't stop loving me!_ "

He hugged his arm around her side, cradling his head betwixt her breasts. He could feel her facing heart beating frantically against his cheek.

"I'll never stop loving you, Leni."

He kissed her side, his warm lips tingling her side through her gown.

" _Never._ "

And she cried tears of joy until they put her to sleep, her brother held tightly to her warming chest.

_...never. That's what he said!_

_I'll never stop loving you, Leni._

_And I'll never stop loving you, Lincy._


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: _The Loud House_ Copyright Nickelodeon (2017)

* * *

Lynn Loud bounded down the steps at an alarming pace, a droopy smile on her face as she sniffed after that heavenly aroma flooding the house. Her legs wobbled on the last step, still coming to terms with leaving the land of slumber, and Lynn had to steady herself on the banister. "Woah."

She tipped hazardously, but she steadied herself and landed lightly onto the carpet. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her moan almost orgasmic at the smell of bacon. " _Ahh~_ "

She sniffed like a bloodhound, following after the invisible scent trails in the air into the kitchen. The sounds of sizzling and scraping filled her ears and her eyes blinked open.

She wiped a hand across her cheek to catch her drool, but did nothing to control her love-struck eyes, with which she spied a plate of crisp, hot, _juicy BACON!_

Without any thought process at all she ducked her head down, crouching onto her legs, and began sneaking over to the counter.

At her cooking station, Leni was bobbing her head side-to-side, humming a soft melody as she was scraping eggs onto a plate. On the counter beside her lay a plate covered in a towel, the prized meat draining on it with a couple hash browns.

She was lost in her own little world. Her head swimming with hazy thoughts of a little boy with white tufts of hair and strong muscles, and a big sister with long silky hair clutching him to her breasts as they lay sleeping under a blanket.

She sighed in contentment as she placed the hash browns onto the plate with the eggs. Flicking her finger against her head in realization, she pulled out a drawer and retrieved a long, slender, silvery knife.

As the metal glinted with sunlight, Leni focused on the mirror-like instrument…

And caught sight of a rodent with deft hands.

Leni frowned deeply.

Lynn had snuck behind her sister. And when she opened up the drawer, Lynn realized that was the perfect time to steal the whole plate. _Stupid airhead probably won't even notice, he-he!_

But just as her fingers touched porcelain they were crushed to the faux-granite counter top. She shrieked loudly before whimpering when fingernails dug into her knuckles, pinning her fingers to the side of the counter. " _L-LENI! LET GO!_ "

Leni turned her frown onto her sister, watching tears fall down her flushed cheeks with a blank stare. "What do you think you are doing?"

Lynn tried to pry her hand away but gasped when Leni pressed her nails down harder. She felt her bones move under the strain, a crackle of pain racing down her back. " _Y-y-you're hurting me!_ " She stared pleadingly at her sister, her vision watery and blurry.

Leni's lips thinned. "Answer my question, Lynn."

Lynn clenched her eyes closed, biting her tongue to keep from screaming in pain. "I-I… j-just wanted some bacon, Leni… it smelled s-so g-good!"

Leni's face remained stoic as she lifted the knife up, the shimmering metal catching Lynn's eyes.

"W-w-what are you doing with that kn-knife, Leni!?"

Leni hummed thoughtfully. "I worked all morning to make Lincy some breakfast." She sighed dreamily. "He's the best brother a sister could ask for." But then her eyebrows angled dangerously low, her lips sneering in disgust. "Then, when I'm nearly finished, I find a _rat_ … trying to steal my precious Lincy's hard-earned meal."

Lynn gasped when Leni stepped behind her and pressed her against the counter, trapping her other arm against the lower cabinet; curling an arm under the girl's tiny chest… that knife coming to rest only inches above her trapped fingers. Her heart stopped when she felt hot breath puff against her ear.

" _Do you know what I do to rats, Lynn?_ "

Lynn's throat bobbed harshly, dry as a desert; her voice was scratching painfully as she spoke. "W-w-what?"

Leni felt her sister's blood trickle onto her fingertips and she smiled against her earlobe, her nose exhaling into her sister's dark hair. Her soothing voice came out huskily. " _Normally, I'd poison them and watch as their pathetic bodies convulse on the ground, and their mouths begin foaming, and they cry in hellish agony…_ "

Lynn's face was ghostly pale, her heart skipping as it raced frantically… trying to get away from her body, _from Leni._ "O-oh…?"

Leni pulled the knife away from her sister's hand and let it flutter in the air just a foot from her sweating neck. She saw Lynn's eyes strain to keep watching it as it inched closer to her shivering body.

" _But… I'm not above slitting their throats if they steal from me…_ "

She brought her hand up to Lynn's cheek, the flat of the cold blade pressing onto her skin, and turned her sister's frightened face toward her frowning one.

" _Now, tell me again what you are doing?_ "

Lynn's eyes darted between both of Leni's, and she couldn't fathom the sheer hatred she found there. "I-I…" She gulped painfully when the icy blade pressed harder into her cheek. "I… w-was just l-leaving…?"

Leni smiled coldly at her sister, pulling her nails out of her sister's hand and patting Lynn's head like an obedient puppy. " _Good girl~_ " She turned away from her and stepped over to the sink. As she turned the water on and dipped her bloodied fingers under the cool water, she turned her eyes back on Lynn.

Lynn was frozen in her spot, unable to comprehend anything except how painful her hand felt, a faint trickle of blood running down her wrist. She watched her sister casually walk over and put her hand under water. But she felt an icy spike of terror wedge through her chest when Leni turned toward her again.

"Lynn… I thought you were _leaving_ …"

Lynn nodded dumbly.

Leni's frown deepened. So, she turned the water off and faced her sister fully; the hand holding the knife held down and to her side. She saw her sister's eyes follow its movements. She took a step forward and Lynn's doe-like eyes jumped back to her face.

She sneered at her scared little sister. "Then, leave. _Now._ "

She fought to keep her giggle in when Lynn nearly tripped as she dashed toward the back door.

"Oh, do watch your step, Lynn!" The edge of her lips curled into a faint smirk as her bangs covered her eyes in darkness. " _The kitchen can be a dangerous place for little rats~_ "

The door slammed so hard it didn't properly shut, lying limply against the frame.

Leni smiled warmly and sighed deeply at the peace and quiet.

She turned back to her brother's plate and was pleased to see it was still warm. She brandished the knife before it and began cutting up the food into tiny bite-sized pieces.

_You deserve the very best, Lincy._

She sighed despondently as she laid the knife in the sink, rinsing it with water.

"I only hope I'm good enough for someone as…a-as _perfect as you._ "

* * *

Leni was frowning sadly when she opened her bedroom door, but that changed into a cute smile when she saw her dorky brother laying on his stomach, his limbs sprawled in every direction, and _snoring._ Oh, how cute his button nose was.

She could just… just _eat him up!_

Then, she noticed how tight his shorts were and her mind froze up…

_Maybe I should eat him…_

Tickling the back of her mind, she could hear the ghostly whispers of her sister urging her to do it to him…

" _You can only love with your body… because the rest of you is worthless._ "

She bit her lip hard, tasting a copper tang on her tongue.

She sighed deeply as she sat down beside her darling savior, admiring how innocent and peaceful he looked in his sleep.

She threaded her fingers into his messy, cow-licked hair, whispering to no one in particular, "I want to show you my love and appreciation for saving me, Lincy…"

Her eyes darted back to his stiff erection poking against his paper-thin shorts and she closed her eyes long enough to take a breath.

"The only thing I have to give is my body…"

Her other hand drifted to the waistband of his shorts, her fingers dipping into the loose material.

Her back shivered when her fingers touched the beginnings of pubic hair.

"This will be fun. Soul-transforming even."

He twitched beneath her hand and she felt her heart begin to speed up, her natural lubricant making herself ready for him on instinct.

She let out a strangled breath. "Y-you're so warm…"

Lincoln suddenly groaned, stretching his arms out. His hand bumped into her leg and his eyes blinked open in surprise. "Oh, that's right. I slept in-" His eyes widened in confusion.

Then, those naïve orbs turned down to the source of his confusion and they burst open wide at the bulge in his shorts. He gasped when her fingers slid along his length as they pulled out of his shorts.

Leni smiled brightly, her eyes closing cutely. "Good morning, Lincy! I made you breakfast!"

Before it could be processed why _Leni's hands were down my shorts!?_ Lincoln had a warm plate laid gently on his lap. He looked down and saw little bites of mouth-watering paradise just waiting to be devoured. He reached for the fork excitedly, but paused when Leni suddenly snatched it.

Leni blushed, biting her lip when Lincoln looked at her with those huge, curious eyes of his. _Oh gosh, you make me so wet~_

"I-I want to feed you… _p-please?_ "

She tried to give him a sultry look but she felt so nervous all of a sudden. And she giggled on the inside because she was acting like such a little school girl, fawning over her… h-her _crush._

_Oh…_

Lincoln just nodded his head with a raised eyebrow. "Sure…?"

Leni let out a breath, feeling her blush tingling her cheeks. "So…" She impaled some egg and potato on the utensil and raised it to his succulent, warm, _inviting lips_ … "O-open wide, little brother."

He did and promptly wrapped his mouth around the metal, sucking the food in with the help of his tongue. " _Mmm~_ "

Leni crushed the urge to whimper when he made that noise. She twisted her leg across her other. She… s-she didn't want to leave so soon, but-

"L-L-Lincy?"

He moaned as those chewed-up morsels fell into his starving stomach. His tongue darted out to lick the salty remains from his lips. "Yes, Leni?"

Her heart seized even as her loins tried melting her panties into vapor. "I… I need to use the l-little girl's room… Be right back…"

He shrugged as she darted out of the door and slammed the bathroom door behind herself. His mind was entirely too focused on his basic needs…

…otherwise he would have questioned why the sheets were suddenly _soaked_.

* * *

Leni sat slumped forward on the toilet lid. Her dress was bunched around her panting chest, one sweaty arm holding it against her bra. Her wet panties were lying loosely around one ankle, slick against the tiled floor.

Her breath was coming in and out in hard, deep pants.

She pulled her fingers out of her hot core and she marveled at the glistening liquid running down her wrist, down her forearm.

"Can't you see what you do to me, Lincy?"

She pushed a drenched finger back into her womanhood, her nail raking erotically against her walls.

" _Ahh!_ " Her knees rattled painfully when she squeezed her thighs together, trapping her hand against her broiling mound. She flexed her wrist, driving her finger deeper into her sex.

"My love for you is gushing o-out in waves, pooling d-deep inside me…"

She pushed a second finger in and her toes immediately curled, her forehead meeting her knees as she cried out in bliss.

"…a-and when my l-love is at its fullest, it... _it- Nnngh! …it pours out of me~_ "

She felt it like a well deep within; its floodgates opening and releasing the waters long held back onto her waiting hand… the toilet lid… wetting her feet where they rested on the floor.

She leaned back against the tank and gasped for air. She spread her legs wide and let her hands fall limply against the lid.

She was utterly spent.

And she smiled deliriously, bringing a single finger up and suckling it with her mouth.

_I wonder if Lincy would like the taste of my love nectar as much as his breakfast…_

* * *

The bathroom door shut with a faint thump as Leni stepped into the hallway.

Luna popped her head out of her room. "Hi, Leni!"

Leni smiled widely. "Hi!"

Luna grinned. "So, whatcha up to today?"

Just then Lynn stepped out of her room and turned to see her two older sisters talking.

Leni's eyes met her younger sister's… one's hungry like a predator, the other's afraid and panicked… she subtly ran the tip of her tongue along her upper lip.

"I and Lincy are going into town to buy stuff."

Luna tilted her head. "Oh? What do you need to get?"

Lynn's heart fell into her shoes when she heard her sister's reply, Leni's icy eyes unwavering, unblinking...

"…I need to get rat poison."

Leni watched as Lynn tripped on her shoelace, catching her torso on the banister as she hurried down the steps.

The front door thumped a second later.

Luna hummed thoughtfully. "Care to pick me up some pop while you're out?"

Luan's head suddenly appeared beside her roommate's shoulder. "Oh! Get me some, too, please!"

Leni giggled and hugged them together. "Of course!"

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: _The Loud House_ Copyright Nickelodeon (2017)

* * *

Leni smiled brightly up at the sun, imagining it giggling and waving at her with such a cute anime face. She closed her eyelids in happiness and smelled the fresh air. " _Ahh~_ "

Lincoln chuckled beside her as the two walked along a sidewalk. "Are you ok? You've been extra _giggly_ today."

Leni turned her smile onto him and beamed even wider when she saw the joyous crinkles around his eyes and mouth. She reached a hand over and poked his forehead. "I'm happy because of _you_ , silly boy." She giggled as she curled her arm around his, clutching it to her breast as they walked on.

"Me? What did I do?" Nevertheless he couldn't help but feel warm and comfortable with her cuddling him. It made him feel wanted… _special_ , even.

She laughed mirthfully, turning her eyes toward the brilliant blue sky. "You are the sunshine that warms my soul, Lincy."

He felt a hint of a blush cross his cheeks, but smiled regardless. "Oh?"

She laid her head onto his hair and clung to his arm tighter. "I don't know what I'd do without you…"

He felt his blush spread as his sister became more affectionate, almost purring atop his white hair. "W-well, you won't have to worry about that because we're family…" He put his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. "We'll never be separated."

Leni gasped and felt her cheeks bloom with heat and joy.

_We'll never be separated._

They continued walking down the street until they came across one of a dozen identical convenient stores in town, and they turned in.

_We'll never be separated._

Lincoln grabbed a buggy from the corral and followed his sister wherever she went.

_We'll never be separated._

Leni turned into an aisle with various cleaners, household products, and pest control products. She gazed after them all, surveying their advertisements and tags. "Hey, Lincy?"

He stepped away from the cart and looked at the two boxes his sister was holding. "Yep?"

She held up the two brands of rat poison. "Which do you think would work better? This one has little pellets that you put in traps…" She lifted the other one higher. "…but this one here is like a tasteless powder that you can put in some food. Very quick and humane…" She looked at him with her wide, innocent eyes.

Lincoln thoughtfully hummed. "Are you sure we even need this?"

Leni's gaze darkened for a moment, her lips curling at the very edge. "Oh, I found a little mouse trying to steal your breakfast this morning. I can't let that happen again."

He chuckled humorlessly. "W-well, if it's necessary, then maybe the powder? At least that way he can enjoy his last meal without a bad aftertaste." He smiled awkwardly.

Leni patted his head. "My sweet sunshine, always so thoughtful." She put the powder box in the cart and put the other away in its proper place. But just to be safe she grabbed a few packs of rattraps, the standard mechanical kind and the glue pads. "Alright, now let's back up and get some cleaning supplies."

_We'll never be separated._

On the other side of the aisle, she grabbed a container of bleach and put it in. Then, she scooted over, looking for- _Yes! There it is!_ She grabbed a similar container of ammonia and placed it inside as well.

Lincoln looked at them in confusion. "Why do we need those? Why not get disinfectant spray or something?" He looked up at her with wide, curious eyes.

Leni's heart melted into goop at the sight. She reached around him and hugged his blushing cheeks to her bosom. Pulling back she placed a wet kiss to his cheek. "I have to make sure the house is clean for my sunshine, Lincy… we don't know _how many_ rats there are sniffing around." Her bangs fell over her eyes, casting them into darkness, as she gave him a wide smile.

_We'll never be separated again._

A few aisles over they found themselves looking at fabrics and materials. Her eyes were cold and calculating as she stepped in front of the needles and scissors. "Hmm." She found a good, long needle with a hook at the end, and she smiled brightly. "It's perfect!"

In it went… along with a pair of needle-nose scissors, an x-acto knife, and string. Lots and lots of string. Rainbow string. Coarse twine string. Even some harsh plastic bailing string that looked like it'd cut pretty deep… if it happened to _accidentally_ slide around someone's neck… and someone _accidentally_ gave it a mighty tug.

Leni shivered. She could only hope to hear at least one scream as the little mouse scratched at its neck in vain, its throat gradually crushing in, snapping out of shape. After all, what's the point of exterminating pests if you couldn't enjoy it?

She grinned as she turned into their final aisle.

Lincoln blushed deeply when he found himself staring at condoms. Everywhere! Literally covering every square inch of shelf space!

Leni stepped up and began surveying them, not noticing her brother's mortification. She turned to her brother and her eyes were drawn to his slight bulge, and she smiled. _I wonder what size he'd need._

Lincoln watched as she picked up box after box. He was beginning to feel unnerved because _why does she keep looking at me!?_ Obviously, he knew he was a boy… maybe she was just imagining what it would look like; and him being the only boy around was as good as any model for her imagination? But why couldn't she conjure up a friend in her mind? Unless she intended- He shivered in disgust. No… his sister wasn't like that. She was… s-she was Leni! Sweet, innocent, happy-go-lucky, naïve Leni! There was no one on earth she would use a condom f-for her… h-her brother…

Then again, if she was so innocent why was she holding up a box of condoms and smiling at them like they held the answers to the meaning of life?

Suddenly, she struck her palm against her forehead.

_Leni! What are you doing!?_

She put the box back and turned around to face her brother.

_If he makes you pregnant, then you'll never be separated forever and ever!_

Lincoln watched as she sighed, her eyes gazing toward him, unblinking. Why… why was that look in her eyes making his skin crawl?

Leni gazed into his eyes and found herself falling into them in a rush of heat and affection. Why… why was that look in his eyes making her so aroused?

They left the aisle and headed to check out.

Leni smirked, imagining the hours and hours and hours of endless sexual pleasure she'd give her little sunshine… just knowing that it'd be raw, it'd be real, it'd be risky… _it'd be perfect!_

She shrugged. _Eh, condoms are overrated anyway._

As they approached the check out, she let Lincy pick out four pops and plop them into the cart.

She hummed a happy tune as she placed the rat poison onto the counter, uncaring when the cashier gave her an odd look.

_We'll never be separated…_

_…because I'll make sure of it._

* * *

Lynn was lying under her blanket, sobbing quietly, when Lucy walked into the room. The door shut with a barely audible thump, and her ghostlike steps carried her over to the shaking lump on Lynn's bed.

"Lynn?" came her monotonous voice.

Her sister stopped crying as she patted the space beside her.

Taking the hint, Lucy sat down. She kept her sigh inside, even though it begged to be let out.

How often has anyone seen Lynn cry?

Far less than Lucy has… and thus far that was still a rare event.

She reached a tentative hand out to rub Lynn's scalp through her mussed up hair. She tried adding some warmth to her otherwise chilling voice; only marginally being successful. "What's wrong, Lynn?"

Lynn felt the warmth of her sister's pale hand and she huddled closer to it, almost quaking as her body hung in that dreadful valley between hot and cold… despair and comfort.

"I-I…" she continued the rest in a whisper.

Lucy pulled her sister's hand in her other one, threading their fingers together. She rubbed her thumb along the girl's wrist, and smiled when Lynn finally began relaxing into the touch. "Can you say it again?"

Lynn turned her watery eyes onto Lucy and spoke, feeling like her soul was being torn out of her chest with each word, "I-I'm s-scared, Lucy. _I'm terrified of… o-of…_ "

Lucy watched as her sister buried her head farther into the sheets and she sighed. She let her hand scratch lightly along her sister's scalp; taking mild pleasure in knowing that she was the only sister who knew best how to get Lynn to relax and open up.

"Who are you afraid of, Lynn?" She let one of her socked feet reach out to rub against her sister's ankles affectionately.

Lynn could feel herself relaxing against her will and she shook her head harshly, curling in on herself like a dying worm.

Lucy laid down and huddle near her sister, giving her the warmth of her body. "Please tell me. I want to help you."

Lynn shook as she began sobbing again. She wanted to tell Lucy. She wanted to tell them all. But could she trust herself? Could she trust Leni not to touch them?

Lucy frowned, but said nothing as Lynn resumed her pitiful crying. Lucy snuggled up beside her sister, continuing to caress her matted hair and share her warmth with the shivering girl.

Gingerly, she reached a hand over to the nightstand and picked up Lynn's phone.

She knew deep down that this must be serious… and she needed help.

Soon, the deed was done and she waited patiently, cooing to her sister as best as she could with her gravelly voice.

It took Luna only a minute to enter the room quietly; Luan following shortly after. Both looked on with worried eyes, their hearts breaking when they saw Lucy turn toward them with a frown and a few tear tracks down her cheeks.

Luna knelt beside the bed. "What happened, Lynn?"

Lucy sat up and made room for her two sisters.

Luan sat down and placed a hand on Lynn's leg, rubbing soothing motions through the sheets.

Luna leant over and wiped her bangs out of the way, getting a good look of the fear haunting Lynn's eyes.

Lynn darted her eyes toward Lucy and Luan, nudging her head toward the door almost imperceptibly.

Luna sighed, catching the message. "Lucy, Luan, could you give us some privacy?"

Luan put her hand on her older sister's arm but paused when Luna looked at her with stern, patient eyes. "Ok, sis."

Luna leant into her sister when Luan hugged her quickly, and she waited until the door shut softly before she gave Lynn her full attention.

"Lucy said you're scared…"

Lynn nodded feebly, bringing the blanket up to just below her wide eyes.

"Did something happen?"

Again, she nodded, unconsciously grasping her injured hand with the other.

Luna's eyes followed the movement and her heart sped up. "Please, show me."

Lynn shook her head even though her heart screamed out for her to get over her fears and tell Luna _before someone else got hurt!_

Fingers gently pried the blanket away, and Lynn huddled closer to herself, clutching her hurt hand to her chest. She was whimpering, afraid and still in pain.

Luna felt her heart break at the sight.

Those warm fingers gripped a scared, trembling hand and slowly, ever so slowly pulled it away.

Luna gasped when her nimble fingers brought her sister's hand up to her eyes.

Four deep gashes along her the ridge of her knuckles stood out. Blood was trickling down her hand slowly. That's when Luna finally noticed the blood staining Lynn's shirt.

"W-why didn't you get help sooner!?"

Lynn shrunk away from her sister's scared tone. "I-I w-was waiting for her t-to leave…"

Luna's eyes widened considerably. "L-Leni did this?"

Lynn turned her head away, clenching her crying eyes shut.

But it was done. Luna saw a very faint nod… the sight racing through her nerves and smacking into her brain like a death knell. _LENI!?_

It was like her world stopped. _How could you do this to your little sister?_

She looked at Lynn's crying face, wet tears running down her cheeks, down her neck. _Why would you do this to Lynn?_

She picked her up out of her miserable cocoon and hefted her small frame in her arms. She took a breath and steadied her feet, and then marched to the door.

Luan and Lucy were sitting on the stairs side by side when they heard the door open. Luan jumped up in shock when she saw Luna look at her with sad eyes.

Lynn clutched a hand to her sister's chest, bunching Luna's purple shirt in a shaky fist. She whispered hysterically, " _P-p-please don't tell them! D-don't tell anyone! I don't want them getting hurt!_ "

Luna cooed to her, resting her head on Lynn's matted hair as she walked to the bathroom. "Don't worry, Lynn, it'll be ok."

Seeing their intention, Luan sprang forward and opened the door, letting them in. But when she tried following, Luna stopped her with a weary look. Luan looked on, scarred and worried, as the door clunked shut in front of her face.

She fell against the corner of the hallway, her back sliding down the wall until she was sitting in a heap.

Lucy trudged over slowly and sat down in her sister's lap, huddling against Luan's breasts and began to cry.

"W-what happened, Luan? W-w-what happened to my s-sister?"

Luan took a deep breath. "I-I don't know…"

They both shivered when they heard Lynn wail in pain, followed by Luna's soft voice.

Luan wrapped her arms around her sister and clutched her tight. She could feel Lucy's tears soaking her shirt, and she could feel her own begin to fall into Lucy's black hair.

" _I-I'm scared, Luan._ "

Luan sobbed into her sister's wet hair.

" _Me, too._ "


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: _The Loud House_ Copyright Nickelodeon (2017)

* * *

The feeling of desperation was crawling across Luan's skin like invisible claws, scratching and picking away at her fragile state of mind.

She tore her teary eyes away from the trembling Lucy in her arms, and gazed at the bathroom door.

She wasn't as strong as her sister, Luna. Her sister could handle bad things when they suddenly came out of nowhere; she was levelheaded in the face of chaos; she was prone to give off an easy vibe, comforting anyone near here…

Those were just a few of the things that drew Luan to her sister.

An attraction not dissimilar to polar magnets.

She sighed, wiping her tears from her eyes, and looked back down to her quivering sister.

What was Luan capable of?

Here she was, crying like a little girl because Lynn's hand got cut up pretty bad and Luna had to carry her away…

Or was it because Luna shut her out, while she… the responsible sister… took care of things expertly. _Away from Luan._

She couldn't help that painful sting that yanked her stomach into pieces.

But she also couldn't help but concede its truth.

Lynn was hurt, and Luan's dearest sister was in there fixing her up brand new. There simply wasn't a better person for the job.

Luan's heart warmed at that thought, finally feeling the strength necessary to rub Lucy's back, to pat her hair comfortingly.

Her angel was taking care of everything, but she knew she'd need help eventually. And Luan couldn't help but beam at the thought of giving her sister the support and comfort she needed…

Her stomach yanked again in an odd, painful direction…

_If only I could comfort her with a lover's embrace._

Luan sighed, hugging Lucy closer to her breast and feeling the eight-year-old begin to breathe more calmly. "It will be ok, Luce… Luna will take care of everything."

Lucy sniffled, wiping her eyes clear of tears with her striped sleeve. "Y-y-yeah…"

Luan rubbed soothing circles into her back, lifting her head up to press a kiss against a pale cheek. "We can trust Luna. So, don't you worry."

Lucy shivered. "I know… b-but Lynn looked s-so scared."

Luan cooed to her, wiping away a fresh tear from her cheek. "Yes, and she'll need you to be strong for her… j-just like I need to be strong for Luna." She hugged her sister before helping her up to her feet. "They'll need us, you and I."

Lucy smiled faintly when Luan poked her nose playfully. "Yes, you're right."

Before anything else could be said, however, the front door opened…

" _Girls~_ " came the happy voice of their oldest at-home sister, Leni, " _I brought home some goodies!_ "

The two walked over to the top of the stairs and saw Leni walking up the stairs, carrying a few bags (presumably to her bedroom).

" _Where's Lynn? I got her a couple surprises…_ "

There was something about that intonation… that innocent tilt of Leni's head… the way her bangs plunged her eyes in darkness for a split second… that made a random chill race up Luan's back.

_Where did that come from, Luan? Geez, get ahold of yourself!_

She tried to keep her voice strong like her sister, Luna, would've done. "Luna's with her in the bathroom. She…" Deep breath. "…hurt her hand and got really scared."

Leni smiled coyly, to the astonishment of her sisters. "Little Lynn got scared, eh?" She continued smiling, her eyes staring off to some unknown place as she marched past her sisters and turned toward her room.

Luan saw her pause at the bathroom door and tilt her head to the side before going into her room. The odd girl giggled… the sound causing another chill to run down Luan's back.

_What's up with her?_

Soon, Lincoln ran up right past them and into his room, already stripping off his clothes for a (presumably) much-desired comic reading session.

Luan sighed. Someone can just tell him later on. There was no need to ruin his-

The bathroom door flung open, banging too loudly against the wall for anyone's liking.

And Luan felt a third chill run down her back when Lynn stumbled out like a drunk, holding a heavily bandaged hand against her chest. She nudged Lucy in the back. "Go help Lynn."

The two departed into their bedroom, leaving Luan alone with a very sullen Luna.

"W-what did Lynn say?"

Luna shut her eyes, taking a breath that racked her body like an earthquake.

Luan felt that familiar anxiety begin to claw at her skin, picking at her insides.

"L-Luna…?"

Luna sighed, turning toward Leni's door and took a step forward, effectively giving her concerned sister a cold shoulder. "N-not now, Luan. I need to talk to Leni."

Those words… " _I need Leni_ "… just being in that specific order, in that same sentence, sent Luan's heart plunging into the depths of the earth. She uttered a teary, " _W-w-w-what?_ " But it went unheard as Luna entered the room and shut the door behind her.

When she heard a faint click of a lock, her mind swam with visions of Luna receiving a lover's embrace from Leni… and it broke her heart into a million tiny pieces; like a drop of ice exploding into innumerable shards.

She fell onto her knees and hands and began to sob, alone and heartbroken in the hallway.

* * *

Luna frowned when she finally pulled Lynn's hand away from her chest. It looked pretty bad.

Blood was slowly accumulating in each gash, eventually filling them up enough to spill over the lacerated skin.

She took her sister over to the sink and turned the water on. She put her hand under the lukewarm water and let the blood flow away, red swirls swishing around the basin before being devoured by the drain.

Without turning her eyes away from her duty, she spoke to the trembling girl whose hand she held in a viselike grip. "Are you _sure_ Leni did this?"

Lynn shivered at the strong tone, crashing into her like a hurricane with its force. She waited until Luna looked at her before she nodded her assent.

Luna hummed noncommittedly before bringing the hand up to her eyes.

Three gashes looked superficial, but the one above her middle finger's knuckle looked deeper. What she was seeing looked almost alien, splotchy, slimy… _l-like a tendon_.

Luna's stern frown deepened in worry, her heart speeding up. She took a deep breath and turned to her sister.

Lynn's spine quaked when she saw the serious demeanor of her sister. "W-what's wrong?"

Luna took a breath. "Can you extend all your fingers fully out?"

Lynn's eyes widened, her face draining of color as her eyes darted to her pale hand. It looked bad to her, b-but… She cried out in pain when she began to push her fingers forward.

It seemed to last for an eternity, but her hand finally managed it… well, almost.

Lynn's heart stopped when she saw her middle finger pushing out limply, unable to reach the same extension as her other digits.

"Relax your hand." The commanding, reassuring voice of her older sister was obeyed without question… something she held onto as her heart plummeted and her mind decayed into anguish.

Luna took another breath and then placed both of her thumbs along the spindly bone of her middle finger, pressing against the sides roughly in the middle of the back of her hand. "Do it again."

Lynn tried. She really tried. But that first inch of movement was torture, scorching a path of fire through the nerves in her arm, shoulder, neck, and brain. She bit her tongue trying to stop herself from screaming.

Luna's eyes worried, but she maintained her calming presence. "Do it, Lynn. Extend them."

The air was torn from Lynn's lungs as she pushed her fingers, her muscles, against the pressure of her sister's thumbs. " _Ahhhh!_ "

Luna's eyes softened when Lynn pushed to the same extent as before. "Relax your hand."

Lynn's hand fell limp in her sister's soft hands, a slight sheen of sweat glistening on her forehead.

Luna rubbed her thumbs along the edges of her hand. "Good job, Lynn, I'm really proud of you."

Lynn smiled for a second, dropping it in time with her panting breaths.

"Now, I know you don't want to… but I need you to make a fist. Can you do that for me?"

Lynn looked at her sister with tortured eyes.

Luna stared back, stoic, unwavering.

"Be strong, Lynn."

The trembling girl nodded and pulled her hand from her sister's grasp. She held the floppy hand in the air, almost crying when she finally noticed how droopy her middle finger looked.

Luna stood beside her, watching her gash with eagle-like eyes.

Lynn held her breath and clenched her good hand into a painful fist. Then, she began…

Luna watched as her fingers twitched, almost snapping against an invisible chain when they began to pull toward her palm. Each whimper, every gasp brought pain to Luna's ears, but it was a necessary evil.

_…for an unnecessary punishment._

For a split second her heart filled with untold wrath, but she stuffed it away as quickly as possible.

Lynn made it halfway, her fingertips only a couple inches away from touching her palm when she finally cried out in pain.

That's when Luna saw it… a pale, slimy thing rippling under the force of pressure. And it was nicked. Just barely… but _it was!_

Luna's heart dropped. _No… Lynn…_

"Relax your hand."

Lynn let it fall limp to her side, but it didn't stay there long before Luna snatched it back to the sink.

Luna ran on autopilot as she pulled out supplies: _thank God our parents think ahead for emergency first aid!_

She pulled the cap off a saline bottle and dipped it over her sister's four gashes.

Lynn watched with bated breath as the cool, strange liquid ran over her hand and harmlessly fell into the sink.

The bottle empty, Luna capped it and set it aside. _I'm not taking any chances._

Next was an antiseptic ointment… and she squirted a good drop on each cut before putting it aside.

Then, she took out sterile gauze and cut it to fit across the span of her hand in one piece.

Lynn held the gauze in place as Luna took out medical tape and cut off strips. She held her breath as Luna's warm fingers pressed each strip into place, almost searing her frigid hand with heat.

Luna took a deep breath, steeling her nerves, when she brought out a roll of wrapping.

"Lynn… s-sweetie…?"

Lynn's heart dropped again. "Y-yes?"

Luna turned to her sister and began wrapping up her whole hand, from fingertips to wrist.

"P-please tell me if this feels too tight."

Lynn's heart skipped a beat.

"It's f-fine, but w-why are you wrapping it? I-isn't the gauze enough?"

Luna sighed again before pinning the end of the roll with a metal clawed-clamp.

" _L-Luna!?_ "

Luna turned her weary eyes onto her sister's frightened, ghostly face.

"One of your tendons was c-cut, Lynn. We have to keep your hand stabilized until a doctor can… c-can put it back together."

Lynn's mouth fell open, though no air came out of or went into her lifeless lungs.

"We have to go to the hospital, Lynn. _Now._ "

Lynn's mouth snapped shut, a deep breath of air whistling as it was sucked into her choking body. " _What!?_ "

Luna rubbed a hand along her sister's forearm reassuringly, still holding her bandaged hand in her own. "If we don't go _now_ you could lose movement in your finger, Lynn."

Lynn's heart froze yet again as a fleeting image of her being cast off all her sports teams forced itself through her brain.

"It needs to be stitched before it can tear anymore-"

" _NO!_ "

Luna stumbled back. "What do you mean, 'no'?" She gripped her sister's forearms and rose up to her full height. "There's no debate, Lynn." Her eyes softened, going a little watery. " _Please._ I can't let you lose your finger…"

Lynn felt tears fall down her cheeks as she shook her head _no,_ frantically clutching at her sister's shirt with her only good hand. " _No! I d-don't want anyone else getting h-hurt because of me!_ "

Luna's eyes hardened. "Don't worry about Leni. I'll take care of it."

She pulled away from Lynn, but was surprised when the girl suddenly darted forward and gripped the handle in a sweaty palm. She uttered a pathetic, "Fine," before slamming the door against the wall and stumbling out.

She immediately went to Lucy, accepting her help into their bedroom.

Luna watched her safely enter the room before she stepped out of the bathroom.

"W-what did Lynn say?"

Her hardened eyes met Luan's fearful orbs before they shut and she took a deep breath.

"L-Luna?"

_I don't know what is going on with you, Leni, but I'm not going to let you hurt another one of my siblings._

She turned toward Leni's door.

"N-not now, Luan. I need to talk to Leni."

And she opened it without preamble. Seeing her supposedly-ditzy sister twirling merrily about the room, she stole a quick breath and entered.

The door shut behind her with a resounding _thunk_.

* * *

Leni spun over to her dresser, and opened up the bottom drawer. She pushed the clothes aside and put her _goodies_ in. She giggled as she ran a hand down the edge of the rat poison.

" _I hope you like gasping for breath as your insides melt into goo, you filthy rat~_ "

The door shut behind her, startling her.

Leni turned her eyes onto the stern frown of her sister and she felt her heartrate increase. She stood up and looked at the newcomer in shock.

_LORI!?_

She rubbed at her eyes painfully before taking another look, seeing the shorter stature of an angry Luna.

She released a sigh of relief, putting her hand on her chest, and chuckled into the air.

Luna's brow arched, her voice dripping with venom. " _What's so funny, Leni?_ "

Leni's smile widened as she took a step toward the middle of the room. She opened her arms wide in a playful gesture. "Life's just great, I guess, Luna~"

"Uh huh." Luna stepped farther into the room, immediately taking note of Leni's side-step… so she side-stepped as well… the sisters circling each other with blazing eyes.

Coming to a stop, Luna crossed her arms and stood tall, leaning forward. "Why did you cut Lynn's hand?"

Leni shrugged, her eyes momentarily moving toward the sight of a cute, adorable Lily munching on one of her shoes. _I guess there "are" more rats in this house…_

For a split second Luna saw her sister's eyes squint before they softened and her mouth grinned… the action made her stomach turn. _Something's not right…_

Taking bounding steps toward the _baby mouse_ in her bedroom, Leni simply replied, "I caught her trying to steal Lincy's breakfast."

Luna watched her as she dipped down and pulled their baby sister into her arms. "You hurt her hand really bad, Leni... _You expect me to believe it was over some stupid food!?_ "

Leni cuddled her sister to her chest, even as the toddler grabbed a fistful of her dress and began sucking on it. Her eyes flashed dangerously. "What can I say, Luna? I only meant to punish her…"

Luna growled when her sister walked over to an open window, a soft breeze blowing into the stuffy room. "You don't punish anyone by cutting their hand up! She needs to see a doctor, thanks to you!"

Leni grinned when she turned to the window, leaning her chest inch by inch toward that open door… just imagining how many seconds it would take for… _let's say a "mouse"_ … to go _splat_ in the grass. She looked at Lily as the toddler nommed on her dress and she smiled warmly.

Would she splatter against the side of the house?

Leni's spine tingled in excitement. _Best keep my fingers crossed...!_

Luna glared at the back of her sister's head, staring heatedly as Leni slowly turned her neck so her smiling eyes were facing her head on. She made a fist with her hands, taking another step toward Leni.

Leni giggled. "Oh, Luna, Luna… you really need to learn…" She dipped her arms toward the open pane, her sister tottering in her embrace. "… _accidents_ happen all the time."

Luna took a step back, the breath knocked out of her as she watched with soulless eyes as her baby sister nearly tipped out of Leni's arms… nearly fell out of the window before she was pulled back to Leni's chest at the last second.

"Oopsies! How clumsy of me~" Leni turned to face Luna, rubbing a fingernail along the crease in Lily's neck. She tilted her head at her sister with a beaming smile. "This _little mouse_ nearly went _splat_ on the ground outside…"

Luna's heart froze as Leni stepped beside her and dipped her head until her eyes were covered in darkness.

" _Now, that would have been a terrible accident… wouldn't it have been, Luna?_ "

Lily was cast into Luna's shaking arms and Leni turned away and walked toward her dresser.

Luna choked on dry spit. " _W-w-why would y- HOW COULD YOU!?_ "

Leni turned toward her sister with bored eyes and a deep frown. "If anyone tries to harm _my Lincy_ …"

Luna's heart skipped. _Her Lincy? What?_

Leni chuckled darkly, turning her back on her sisters. "…next time there won't be any _accidents_."

Neither sister heard or paid attention to the faint, sudden gasp behind the bedroom door.

Luna's throat bobbed as Lily clutched at her purple shirt and began suckling innocently on the sweaty fabric.

" _Now get out._ "

The closing of the door left Leni in a peaceful silence, which was much appreciated.

She turned her eyes and frowned at the single box of rat poison.

_I should have bought more than one. This house is infested with vermin._

Suddenly, she felt fingers slither around her pale neck like a anaconda's grip and she choked.

She stared in horror at the mirror above her vanity as the demonic face of her older sister slowly slid out from behind her head.

" _Hello, my sweet, worthless Leni~_ "

She tried clawing at that phantom grip; instead gasping out as the grip began strangling her throat.

"L-Lori, stop! I-I… _I can't breathe!_ "

Lori cackled into Leni's ear, strengthening her forceful grasp enough to rip out another gasp from her prisoner.

" _So, you thought you could replace me just like that?_ "

She snapped her finger, the sound reverberating through Leni's colorless body.

" _You're just as stupid as you are worthless, dear sister…_ "

She yanked on Leni's silken hair, bending her neck back so her clawed fingers could dig into the vulnerable flesh at her throat.

" _You will always belong to me~_ "

And Leni struggled in vain as her sister forced her to the ground, pushed up her dress, and ravished her body until blood pooled into the carpet beneath her.

In the dark stillness of twilight, she finally fell asleep… her body finally out of tears, her heart unable to ache for one second longer.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: _The Loud House_ Copyright Nickelodeon (2017)

* * *

A pair of broken tears fell onto the carpet, a sob heaving into the stale air. Two hands scratched at the floor in vain for comfort. Two wobbly knees fell…

…and Luan's crying face crashed into the ground, her ponytail splattering around her. She fisted the matted carpet fibers in her trembling fingers and let her soul pour out.

_Why am I not good enough for you?_

Her teary head pulled up, her eyes, puffy and pink, staring at Leni's door in not only disbelief and despair… _but also betrayal._

_Am I really such an awful sister that you have to run to the arms of another?_

A fist pounded the ground harshly.

Her eyebrows furrowed angrily as she gnashed her teeth.

_You won't throw me away just like that, Luna!_

* * *

Luan's eyes opened from yet another nightmarish daydream, and she turned onto her side to huddle in on herself under the too-cold blankets.

Her eyes fell upon Lily's crib… yet something else plaguing her mind since earlier that day.

_Why?_

Such a simple question. Only one word.

Why did Luna storm into Leni's room?

Why did Leni cut Lynn's hand?

Why was Lily involved in that?

Just… _why?_

She closed her eyes and felt a tremor run up her spine as she remembered that heart-stopping moment when Leni threatened _my Luna_.

" _If anyone tries to harm my Lincy… next time there won't be any accidents._ "

Luan couldn't help her shocked gasp. She could put two and two together. For some reason, Leni hurt Lynn… she did something to Lily… and _Luna might be next!_

Tears began falling onto her tear-stained pillow.

It didn't even matter that Lincoln and Lily were in danger… it didn't matter that Lynn was at the hospital with Luna and Lucy (and mom, probably by then), having an operation on her hand…

And it definitely didn't matter that she was _de facto_ left to "protect" all of her younger siblings from an older sister for unknown reasons…

She tightened the blanket around her head as she watched Lily sleeping soundly just across the room.

_Luna, you asked the wrong sister…_

Would she let Leni or anyone hurt Lily?

No.

But would she actively work to stop Leni from _whatever it is she's doing?_

She could only shrug.

It was a fine line between sympathy and empathy, understanding and doing…

_But not with Luna…_

No, that wasn't an option. Or rather, that was the whole problem. Her heart was so full of Luna there wasn't enough room for anyone else.

Her eyes hardened as she slowly put her feet onto the bare carpet floor, her toes getting tickled by the matted fibers.

She turned toward her closed bedroom door…

…and left Lily behind. _Defenseless._

She wiped her tears away with a pajama sleeve as her other hand gripped the handle.

All had been forgotten save for one thing: _Luna, Luna, Luna…_

In her own little world, her own bubble of safety, where it was just her and her sweet, sweet sister. Their love for each other could thrive like the wildflowers in an uncut field. Their lives could go on forever in eternal happiness and comfort.

_I won't let Leni take that away from me._

In this world, no one else had ever existed. There was no injured Lynn. No helpless Lily. No annoying brother. No meddlesome sisters.

There was only Luna. Then, now, and forever more. Leni had no place in the equation.

She gritted her teeth as she stepped into the dark hallway. Her eyes immediately targeted Leni's door as she walked toward it.

_I'll do anything to keep you away from my Luna!_

In two shorts strides, she stood before it. The doorway to her future: whether it'd bring destruction or infinite bliss. She didn't care. _If I don't do anything, I'll lose Luna forever… and that's simply not an option._

She clenched her hand to dissipate the jitters and slowly turned the handle. The tumblers rattled loudly through the still air.

She pushed the door open, a rusty hinge creaking eerily, causing a shiver to run up her spine. Her eyes turned to see a heap of blankets on Leni's bed…

But no Leni.

She took another step inside… waiting… expecting something to jump out… for Leni to reach out of the darkness and pull her in…

Another step. _Nothing…_

She walked slowly over to the vanity and paused at an odd sight. Her head tilted as she beheld a bottle of nail polish remover tipped into a rag, slowly pooling into the fabric, dripping onto the wooden desk.

Luan's eyes followed the liquid march as they settled into eight deep grooves in the wood.

_What in the world did that!?_

Then, she noticed a funny, sweet smell, and her eyes turned to see an opened container of bleach.

_Is this- What is this? Is this why Leni hurt Lynn?_

She scratched one palm with its sister's fingers as she puzzled it out.

Her confusion and thoughts were so loud she didn't hear it until it was too late…

_Is that breathy humming?_

" _Oh, little mouse… you thought you could kill me in my sleep and take my Lincy all for yourself, didn't you~?_ "

Her blood chilled as she turned around. She nearly screamed when she realized Leni was close enough to touch their noses together.

"W-w-what are you talking about, Leni!?" She waved one arm behind her. "What is this stuff!?"

Leni smiled cutely, her eyes squinting in delight. She reached out a hand to pat her sister's trembling cheek dotingly. " _Why do you play dumb just like Lynn? All you rats do is lie and steal…_ "

Luan choked on her dry spit. "Wha-"

Leni interrupted with a giggle. " _You're not a very good rat, Luan…_ " She hummed as she stepped around her and picked up the rag… " _Lynn was sneaky._ " She dipped the soaking rag into the bleach… " _Lily was a cruel, heartless beast._ " She lifted the rag up and her eyes glinted in approval at the faint odor wafting toward her nose. " _And Luna acts all righteous…_ "

She turned toward her sister with a cruel smile. " _But all of you are just the same…_ "

Luan backed away as Leni took a step, the rag poised in front of her.

" _All you rats want is my perfect, pure, innocent brother!_ "

Luan slumped against the wall and gasped a ragged breath of sweet air when Leni forced the cloth against her nose…

Her cries were muffled by the sound of Leni's laughter.

She tried to fight back. She dug her nails harshly into Leni's arms; she could feel the blood slicking her fingers.

Her knees grew wobbly…

Her breathing slowed, deepened…

Her eyes closed unwillingly…

Her mind fluttered away to the melodic sound of Leni's breathless voice…

" _But he is mine… and I will do anything to ensure that._ "

Laughter filled the dark void as one sister stood over another, her bloodied arms raised to the ceiling in triumph.

" _YOU HEAR THAT, RATS!? LINCY'S ALL MINE!_ "

* * *

Lucy sat on a chair beside her sister, Luna. Her knees were huddled to her chest, her small frame almost being engulfed by the generic plastic-metal waiting room seat. Though no one could see beneath her dyed bangs, her eyes were red from too many tears.

Luna's fingers kept tapping against her skirted leg; a nervous method of coping, Lucy knew… sort of like Lynn's incessant need to bounce a tennis ball against the wall.

She leaned into her older sister as she felt fresh tears begin to form in her tired eyes.

"Is Lynn going to be o-ok?"  
Luna turned to her sister, her neck cracking from stiffness and fatigue. She frowned when she saw the new tears, but said nothing about them as she cradled her sister to her chest.

"She's going to pull through. There's no girl tougher than our sister."

Lucy sniffed, placing her small hand on her sister's much bigger leg, fingering the plaid material of her skirt.

"I don't understand what happened, Luna… why was she crying?"

Lucy let out a few more tears as she hid her face in her sister's loose shirt.

" _She never cries!_ "

Luna rubbed circles in her back, and laid her chin on Lucy's head. She hummed, letting the soothing rhythm mellow out her sister's worries.

"It'll be ok, Lucy."

Her mind suddenly turned to an image of a smiling Leni and a tottering Lily nearly spilling out of her arms, and her heart clenched painfully… her stomach fluttered woozily.

"Everything will be ok."

Leni's laughter filled her mind as she closed her eyes and continued rubbing her sister's shaking back.

_I hope Luan's ok…_

She felt a tear of her own fall as she thought of her sister holding Lily, hiding in the closet, squirming like trapped mice as Leni slashed away at the bedsheets…

She clutched her sister tighter.

_Please… please be ok til I get back!_

* * *

Darkness. Laughter. Warmth.

These were the things slowly rolling into Luan's brain as she came to from her heavy slumber.

Her eyes blinked open slowly, dumbly, barely recognizing the face of Leni resting above her.

The soft sound of Leni's giggling was soothing to her aching head.  
Oh gosh, she felt so tired. So weak. She tried to lift and arm and it wouldn't budge.

Her eyes turned to the side lazily and barely comprehended the sight of a velvet cuff tying her wrist to a bedpost. Luan smiled crookedly.

_This must be one of "those" dreams… Leni's gonna pull out a riding crop and Luna's gonna-_

That's when her eyes suddenly shot open in remembrance.

She stared at her smiling sister in shock, her breath quickening. "What did you do to me!?"

Leni chuckled happily as she stood from the bed and pranced over to her vanity. "Nothing you didn't _deserve_ , little sister…"

Luan's eyes bugged out when she saw a knife glint in the soft moonlight. "Wait! What are you doing!?"

Leni turned around slowly, revealing a wide smirk and darkened eyes, her bangs casting a shadow across her face. The knife was lifted into the air, its silvery surface sparkling in the light. "I'm going to teach you a lesson."

Luan's throat bobbed as her sister straddled her hips on the bedsheets. Her face paled when Leni's cold fingers tugged her shirt up… slowly, tenderly, lovingly…

Luan sobbed tearfully when she felt the frozen sting of metal rest across the defenseless place of her sensitive stomach.

" _P-p-please, stop! I don't w-want Lincoln!_ "

Leni's eyes flashed dangerously.

" _All rats ever do is lie… what makes you think I'll believe you?_ "

The tip of the blade grazed against her belly button, almost but not quite cutting her tender flesh.

A heavy sob was torn from Luan's throat as she closed her eyes tightly, unwilling to see what her sister would do to her.

" _B-because I… I l-love…_ "

Leni's brow raised and she guided the blade higher up, dragging it across each rib.

Luan shivered as she felt her shirt get bunched up at her neck… and her bra was pushed up to match. Her face burnt in humiliation and shame… at her nudity or coming confession, she didn't know nor cared.

" _Whom do you love?_ "

Leni bared her teeth as she pressed the tip above Luan's heart, drawing one bead of pure red blood to slither down her sister's flawless valley betwixt her breasts.

Luan cried, trembling in pain as she felt that blade pierce through another layer of skin…

" _I love… I-I… l-l-lov-_ "

Leni dragged the blade down suddenly, smiling at the sight of a paper thin tear in her sister's precious body.

Luan's scream was like a choir of angels to her ears.

" _LUNA!_ "

Leni pulled the blade away, and admired the deep red fluid dripping from it… and landing on Luan's quivering stomach.

" _Really? Now, isn't that typical._ "

She turned her eyes back on her sister, seeing how blood gradually oozed from the gash along her center.

She laid the blade upon Luan's tender neck and she placed her lips on her sister's ear.

Luan shivered at the hot breath rolling across her, the painful sting of a cut just deep enough to make her bleed, the harsh smell of her own blood drying on her naked body.

" _I should just kill you now…_ "

Leni drew a beautiful pink line of blood along the crease of her sister's throat.

Luan gasped, struggling for breath, feeling constricted.

" _You can do anything to me! Just, please, don't hurt Luna! Kill me, kill anyone, just not her!_ "

Leni smiled softly as she used the flat of the blade to smear her sister's blood across her neck, her breasts.

" _Love is beautiful, isn't it?_ " She made a cut on one breast, her spine tingling when Luan cried out in pain. " _It makes a person do crazy things for their lover._ " She cut the other breast. " _But… I don't believe you._ "

Leni dipped a finger into the oozing blood on Luan's chest a traced out a word on her forehead… _RAT_

Luan sobbed, her body burning and crying out for relief.

" _P-please! I'll do anything to save my sister!_ "

Leni chuckled as she sat up on her knees and admired her writhing sister beneath her.

" _You'll do anything?_ "

So beautiful, how the blood ran down her breasts, pooling in the sheets beneath her. How her neck was caked in dried blood. How _RAT_ was a deep maroon…

Leni looked oddly at the blade in her hand before turning back to her sister's branding mark.

_Maybe I should mark her in a more… permanent way?_

Luan sobbed pitifully, her eyes barely opening to stare her sister in the eyes.

" _A-anything!_ "

Leni poised the blade at Luan's heart and leaned down, eye to eye, and watched closely as she breathed out her question.

" _Would you kill Lynn to save your lover?_ "

A strange glint flashed across Luan's eyes, but she answered instantly in a breathless whisper.

" _Yes._ "

Leni smiled genuinely and laid the knife down in the red sheets. She flung her arms around Luan's quivering, pale body and hugged her tightly.

" _Being in love is the most wonderful thing in the world, isn't it?_ "

Luan stared blankly at the ceiling as tears ran down her cheeks and into Leni's hair. The pain she felt in her heart suddenly made her forget about the cuts, the blood, and the torture. It pained her not because she agreed to murder her sister, but because… deep down inside… she knew she would have done so anyway without Leni's guidance.

_After all… Luna was hers, and hers alone… and no rat was going to take Luna away from her!_


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: _The Loud House_ Copyright Nickelodeon (2017); _Come Little Children_ by Kate Covington (2009)

* * *

_No, Ace Savvy! Look out! The Card Shark is right behind you!_

The door slowly opened, revealing a pair of shiny eyes, an array of grinning teeth.

_Not today, you lowlife! Cause Ace Savvy always comes out on top of the deck!_

The door clunked shut; and a dark figure slinked closer, closer, _closer…_

" _Lincy~?_ "

Lincoln's nose twitched.

_My name is Ace Savvy, good citizen!_

" _Oh, you're so cute I could just eat you up…_ "

The figure settled onto the bed, running a slender finger across her brother's bare chest.

_While I do recommend a healthy diet of justice, I am afraid this superhero is not on the menu._

A low chuckle, as the figure straddled him beneath her.

" _Then, maybe I'll make a special order~_ "

He opened his mouth to reply but the words were swallowed up by a pair of lips engulfing his mouth. He gasped in her mouth when he felt a velvet tongue thread around his own. His shock fell away into pleasure, his eyes fell shut to the bliss his body was reveling in.

Those sinful lips pulled away and he heard a faint giggle.

He opened his eyes right as a stray beam of moonlight revealed the face of his sister… _Leni._

"Is this a dream?"

He was shocked. Partially disgusting, sure… but his little boy brain _(both_ of them, actually) were kinda excited at this "dream" of his.

She pecked his nose with her warm lips.

" _Do you want it to be a dream?_ "

His throat bobbed and he found himself nodding unconsciously.

He couldn't even begin to describe the strange mixture of desire and revulsion swirling inside his stomach, to feel so lightheaded from anxiety and excitement.

It wasn't normal. It wasn't natural. But gosh, it was a dream…

_And anything goes inside the safe realm of dreams…_

He took comfort in knowing he had no control over his mind's fantasies while he slept innocently in his closet-turned-bedroom.

What was he supposed to do when Leni barges into his dreams with sexy eyes and seductive kisses?

Tell her 'no'?

He chuckled into Leni's mouth as she devoured him, causing her to look at him funnily.

"What's so amusing, honey bun?"

That only made him giggle that much more. Leni tilted her head in confusion, wrapping her arms around her stomach to quell the gnawing sensation of dread settling within.

Wiping a cheery tear from the corner of his eye, he looked on her face, oblivious to her sincere pain and discomfort…

"Cause this is all a silly dream! The real Leni would never come in here and kiss me! And the real Lincoln wouldn't enjoy it."

Her insides melted into jello as she fell onto her legs, too weak to hold herself up.

" _What?_ "

Lincoln continued with his chuckling monologue, "I mean, it's just so disgusting to even think about! Of course the only way I'd ever feel this about you is in a creepy nightmare!"

Leni frowned, her nails digging into her nightgown-clad stomach, trying to yank out those squirming demons wrecking her insides, strangling her vulnerable core.

_If you'll only love me in a dream, then so be it._

And she plunged herself back into a steamy kiss, causing his toes to curl and his eyes to roll back into his head…

She continued her onslaught, tasting every crevice, exploring every pattern, every texture of his mouth, like it was her only chance to experience true pleasure.

She pulled back and couldn't help but smile at the deep flush covering his cheeks.

_But soon, Mr. Loud, I will make you love me in the daylight…_

She got up and left, closing the door on his faint snores.

_…even if I must die to make it happen!_

She had a silly lovesick grin on her face as she walked down the hallway and turned to her room.

Knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep after that _startling_ news, she searched for an old school book of hers from middle school.

So, with _Romeo and Juliet_ in hand, she sat on her bed and read under the soft light of a lamp.

* * *

Luan pulled the collar of her nightgown up around her bandaged cut when she heard the bedroom door open with a faint creak. She saw the outline of Luna step in and shut the door back, and her heart soared. She grinned, the dull ache from her wounds quickly forgotten, when Luna began stumbling toward her…

But that ever-present knife stuck her heart when Luna stepped into the arms of her bunk ladder instead of her waiting sister's.

She laid there and huddled the sheets up to her nose as little sparkling tears pooled in her eyes. She could hear Luna settle herself and slowly fall to sleep.

For a while, she merely laid there and mourned the futility of her own desires, listening to the sounds of her beloved's snores…

But then she turned to look at Lily's crib and she frowned deeply.

Her feet worked mindlessly, carrying her over to the silent bed. Her arms reached in, her fingers grazing the fragile neck of her youngest sister.

Her beady eyes glinted in the fading moonlight as she raked a single nail along the crease of Lily's neck.

_Maybe that's why Leni hurt Lynn…_

She turned and exited her bedroom door.

Soon, she stood over a sleeping Lynn, her ponytail trailing across the sporty girl's cotton night shirt. And she poised a single fingernail above her sister's heart, feeling the steady beat of a vulnerable, sleeping soul.

Luan grinned, her braces shining in the moonlight.

It would be so easy…

_I can get a knife from the kitchen…_

No one would know it was her…

_I can lay its silvery edge along your throat…_

Luna would think it was all Leni's doing…

_And I can ensure no one will take my Luna away from me!_

She turned away and walked over to Lucy's bed. She leaned over her, admiring her pale face. She saw her arms folded across her chest in a protective, vampiric gesture, and she moved them slowly out of the way.

She licked her lips when she felt her young sister's tender heartbeat with a finger.

_Maybe I should make it a two-for-one deal… just in case._

She chuckled lowly as she exited the room and returned to her bed.

Right as she stepped on the threshold, she turned and her eyes met those of her sinister mistress…

And both girls grinned evilly, giggling as they hoped for happier times, laying in the arms of their lovers and embracing their affections for all eternity.

* * *

Lynn woke up from a fitful slumber to the alluring smell of baking. She pulled off the blanket and stood on two wobbly feet. Her hand instantly went to the edge of her cast, scratching at her unprotected skin. She grit her teeth when she couldn't reach that ever-present itch beneath the plaster covering.

She brought the unholy abomination up to her eyes and she frowned pitifully. She'd be unable to play any sports ( _Well, I guess I could always take up track and field. Sigh._ ) for six whole weeks! And then, only after she was passed by a physical therapist.

Muscle atrophy.

Those two words made her stomach churn horribly. It was sickening to think that her hand was slowly losing its dexterity, muscle mass, and memory.

She felt a tear pool in her eye at the thought, _I may have to relearn how to write…_

Another sudden waft of that heavenly smell brought her out of her brooding, and that's when she noticed that Lucy was already gone.

With a sigh, she walked over to the door, pulling up her sagging shorts along the way.

_Don't need to flash my poor brother, too… gosh, could my life get any worse?_

She took the steps slowly this time around. She bit her lip to stifle another tear as she recalled, briefly, her encounter with Leni just yester-morn.

_Man up, Loud! You can get through this. You can figure out what happened to your ditzy sister and help her get through it. Weeping won't solve anything._

She reached the last step and took a deep breath.

_Man! That smells amazing!_

And she hopped off, taking care to protect her cast, and she turned to the kitchen with a wide smile on her face.

That smile immediately fell when she saw Leni holding a plate of powdered donuts, the twins and Lucy standing nearby and nearly vibrating in their excitement.

Her heart sunk to her toes as she saw Lana and Lola already chewing, _swallowing…_

_No… please, God, no!_

Her world froze still when she saw Lucy lift a donut to her lips, the powder grazing her lips before her mouth opened…

_NO!_

It took her only a second to realize she screamed hysterically, already racing forward to save her sister from her doom.

Lucy squeaked out in terror when she was suddenly tackled to the ground, grunting painfully… but not as horribly as Lynn's scream when her cast bounced off the tile floor.

" _Lynn!_ "

Lynn wrapped her good hand around Lucy and wept into her black hair.

" _You're safe now! Lucy, sweet Lucy… please, don't leave me!_ "

Lucy gasped.

" _What are you talking about? What about your hand!? Are you ok!?_ "

Lynn trembled in pain, but forced it to the back of her mind as she clung tighter to Lucy.

" _The only thing that matters is that I saved you._ "

"Saved her, Lynn?"

A spike a terror ran up her spine as that cruel, sweet voice slithered across her ears.

"And what were you saving her from, _little mouse?_ "

Lucy looked up into the sweet, sparkling eyes of her older sister, Leni, and just shrugged. She mouthed, _I don't know. Do you know what she's talking about?_

Leni shrugged and handed another donut to each twin.

" _Eat up, girls. There's plenty more where these came from~_ "

Lynn clenched her eyes in shame and failure.

"Leni? Where's the baby bottle?"

Lynn relaxed a fraction at the comforting presence of Luan, and smiled into Lucy's hair. _Finally, some back up!_

"Oh, look at how cute Lily is, Leni! I could just eat her all up!"

The sound of their giggles was a little unnerving, but she could live with them doting over an infant child…

Slowly, Lynn got to her feet, keeping her hand firmly clasped in Lucy's as they both turned to see Luan making funny faces at a giggly Lily.

"You're such a cute little _mouse~_ "

The color drained from Lynn's face, her beating heart stilling. _No…_

Lynn saw Luan glance at her with a gleam in her eyes, and then she brought up a bottle slowly, getting closer and closer to Lily's laughing, expectant mouth; a faint chalky powder swirled inside the sickly pale fluid…

Before she knew what happened, she heard Luan gasping for breath… she saw her fist pressing hard into the teen's ribs… she saw Luan falling… she heard Lily crying…

And her soul shattered into a million pieces as she watched her baby sister thunk against Luan's gasping chest and scream in _pain?_ _Terror?_ _Both…?_

Her stomach twisted in anguish as she reached over and tried to retrieve Lily from Luan's heaving body, but the toddler swatted her away in anger.

Lynn felt tears form in her eyes as Lily stared at her in hatred.

She turned to Lucy and tried to hug her for comfort, but the dark-haired girl backed away a single step, fear in her hidden eyes.

The message couldn't be made any clearer than the heavy sobs bubbling out of Lynn's throat.

A gasp in the doorway brought everyone's eyes to face a stunned Luna.

The rocker stared at a stricken Lynn, cradling her cast to her chest and tears trailing down her cheeks, and her heart hardened.

Steeling her resolve, she turned her eyes on Leni, and was unsurprised now to see her smiling cutely.

" _Hi, Luna~_ "

Luna ignored the demoness and moved on to see Luan laying against the cabinet with a crying Lily sitting on her chest. She shook her head in disapproval, completely missing the look of hope, then the look of confusion, then the look of hatred that flashed across Luan's face, as Luna turned her eyes away from Luan's gasping pain.

Lucy sat stiffly on the ground… and it confused Luna why she wasn't helping Lynn up.

Lana stood by Leni, clutching her leg for protection… something else that confused Luna.

Seriously, was she the only one who saw Leni for what she was? _A hideous monster!_

No. Lynn knew the truth. And Luna turned back to see such a despondent look in her eyes that it moved Luna to walk across the room and kneel before her.

"Are you ok, Lynn?"

Lynn tried to ignore the way Luan's face was turning red, how her eyes were glaring at her unblinkingly, how her fists clenched so hard they turned a ghostly white. She saw Leni staring at her with a cruel smirk… and was unnerved when Lola suddenly sported the same expression.

" _Luna~_ "

Luna sighed. "Not now, Lola-"

Lola scuffed her pink shoes against the floor. "Oh, I just thought you'd like to know that _Lyynnnn_ hit Luan for no reason…"

Luna's mouth parted a fraction before it closed, her eyebrows furrowing. She saw Lynn squirm and flush, and the evidence of guilt seemed insurmountable… but there had to be more to it than that.

With a calming sigh, she made her choice and slowly stood, picking Lynn up into her arms once again. She turned toward Luan and saw her eyes begin crying, her lower lip trembling. It was unnerving, but Luna had little time to interpret it: she needed to act quickly to bottle up this mess Leni was causing.

"Are you coming, Luan?"

Luan felt so torn, so terrible. She felt sooo hurt, so utterly betrayed, so humiliated and embarrassed… _because it should be ME in her arms!_ But her heart began melting at the thought of spending even one second more with her sister.

It didn't matter in what way she could enjoy it… she just wanted to be with Luna. To smell her when she walked by. To touch her when they hugged. To kiss her lips as she slept soundly at night.

She was a Class A masochist, and she knew it. She opened her mouth to respond, only to promptly shut it when she felt a firm, warm hand clamp down on her shoulder.

" _Luan was helping me in the kitchen… can't you find another sister to help you take care of one little mouse?_ "

Luna narrowed her eyes at Leni. _She's been acting hostile to every sister so far… until Luan. Why is that?_ She turned her eyes onto Luan and was shocked to see tears falling down her cheek.

But what was she supposed to do? She tried to get Luan to come with her, so all three of them could settle whatever the problem was… _and decide what to do about Leni._

Luan, however, wanted to stay and help _Leni…_

And Luna would likely take it to the grave how badly that unintentional jab pained her.

_Oh, Luan… if only I was brave enough to tell you how much I love you…_

She pulled her eyes away, unable to take the rejection anymore. With a heavy heart and weary soul, she carried Lynn up the steps; the girl felt so small, so fragile in her arms as she quivered and sobbed. Each step made her feel like she was leaving her future happiness behind, throwing away her hopes of securing a beautiful love with her best friend, Luan...

_I need your help, Luan… can't you see? I'm barely keeping myself together as it is. I need you...  
_

She laid Lynn onto Luan's bed and closed the door to her sanctuary of safety.

She took a deep breath.

Inside this room, she felt safe. She felt in control. She felt like she made a difference.

And, most importantly, she felt like she could _defeat_ Leni… whatever that would entail.

"Ok, Lynn…"

The startled girl turned her wide eyes to me.

Luna reached a hand out and patted her cast protectively. She smiled warmly as she knelt by the bedside.

"…tell me everything that happened."

* * *

Lana and Lola went on about their day normal as ever. They played. They laughed. They complained when their older siblings' drama kept them away, and that led to the twins squabbling of menial things. For all intents and purposes, they were happy, healthy, and safe.

In fact, the only noticeable difference since that morning was that they refused to eat lunch.

And they refused to eat dinner, too. (Though their mom forced them to eat a few bites.)

And when they climbed the stairs one final time to go to bed, they found themselves a little breathless.

But, otherwise, they were completely, probably, possibly, hopefully normal.

Leni, watching from her doorway as each twin entered their room with a tired, breathless yawn, beamed in pride.

_Goodnight, little mice. Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite~_

* * *

Lucy shivered under the warmth of her blanket. She turned her eyes over toward Lynn's bed, surprised yet again to see Luan sleeping there… even though she'd already looked a dozen times before.

It hurt, of course, that Lynn didn't come back out… didn't explain why she attacked Luan.

Lucy was ready to accept her answer obediently, whatever it might be. Lynn was her best friend, her confidante, her…

She blushed a little as she remembered when Lynn clutched her tightly that morning.

Well, she enjoyed their intimacy quite a bit.

But that sudden bout of anger scared Lucy deeply. And she didn't know what to do. She knew deep down in her heart that she'd follow Lynn no matter what she did… but what if she took her anger out on Lucy next? What if it was Lana… or Lisa… or Lily?

Lucy shivered in disgust. She needed guidance. She needed help.

She thought of going to Luna, but scrapped that idea.

_Luna was too quick to respond to Lynn. They're probably helping each other with anger problems. I shouldn't gossip about my best friend to her confidante…_

A spike of jealousy surged through her.

So, she left the bedroom and turned toward the door of her only other option.

_I hope Leni doesn't mind a nighttime visitor…_

* * *

Dozens of miles away, there sat a pointless town.

And deep inside that pointless town, there sat a pointless apartment complex.

And on the 6th floor of that pointless apartment complex, there sat door #66…

And behind that door, a woman could be heard singing.

" _Come little Leni, I'll take thee away…_ "

A razor ran up a smooth leg, pulling cream as it left behind flawless skin.

" _…into a land of enchantment._ "

A sponge full of soapy water dabbed across two perfectly molded breasts, cloaking two perk nipples in a shroud of bubbles.

" _Come little Leni, the time's come to play…_ "

Two delicate hands slithered down the flat plane of an alabaster stomach, toying with the soft, blonde curls down below.

" _…here in my garden of shadows._ "

The showerhead issued forth a spring of water, pouring out like heavenly rain upon the silken field of blonde locks crowning her head.

" _Follow sweet Leni, I'll show thee the way…_ "

A fluffy towel ran sinfully along each and every one of her many, many curves.

" _…through all the pain and the sorrows._ "

The curtain was drawn back, releasing a torrent of heavy steam into the small room.

" _Weep not, poor Leni, for life is this way…_ "

Two beautiful feet stepped across the chilly floor, coming to a rest before a vanity.

" _…murdering beauty and passions._ "

A single hand brought up the towel and wiped away the hazy fog, revealing one self-satisfied smirk, two angled eyebrows, two burning eyes, a button nose, and two rows a starving teeth.

Lori looked in the mirror and blew a kiss at her fantasy lover.

" _I'm coming home soon, dear sister. And won't you be surprised to see me!_ "

The soft sound of her cackles filled the humid air as darkness engulfed the evening sky in a garden of shadows.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: _The Loud House_ Copyright Nickelodeon (2017)

* * *

Luna sat frozen stiff as a board, her ears hearing the words filtering into them, but her brain rejecting them as mushed-up nonsensical gibberish. She smiled stupidly because of how ludicrous it simply was.

Ha. Ha ha ha!

Seriously! It must have been a terrible joke done in poor taste. Much like the innocent puns her beautiful angel did daily.

Her lips smiled warmer just thinking of her precious Luan, her special ball of sunshine, laughing giddily and slapping her knee.

Is there anything more perfect in the universe than that which she held inside her very soul… her best friend, her sister, _her Luan?_

Oh, she could understand why Lynn couldn't stop her hysterical ramblings about how _evil_ Luan must be…

After all, just being in the same room as… _Leni_ … made her want to get dad's axe from the shed and give her big sister a grand ol' swingin' time!

_Heh, Luan would love that one._

But, yeah, as far as Luna was concerned, Leni threatened Lynn again and… _in the heat of the moment_ … she punched the wrong sister.

The same sister which happened to be holding their baby sister.

A complete accident.

Lynn just needs reminding that _Leni_ is the true, and only, enemy in this house…

And a stern reminder to be careful around Lily.

Because Luan is innocent. She's gorgeous. She's everything Luna ever wanted in a mate.

The idea that she was trying to feed Lily rat poison is not only hilarious… _it's out of the question._

Luna was thrown out of her thinking when Lynn's good hand tugged on her shirt. She looked down at the frightened little sister hunched over her crossed knees and looking so terrified… _almost like a scared mouse… huh, she's insane, but Leni sure knows what she's talking about._

Lynn's eyes were wide, her face was pale, and the hand gripping Luna's shirt in a deathgrip was shaking.

"Luna… _what can we do!?_ "

Luna smiled cheekily at her sister, while she poked her button nose with a finger.

" _You_ will take care of yourself and be careful, little sister… _I_ will handle Leni."

Lynn frowned, her whole body tensing.

"W-what about Luan?"

A flash of light glanced across Luna's eyes, her face darkening a fraction.

" _My_ _sister is innocent, Lynn. You simply misread the situation._ "

Lynn nearly fell back as the words dug into her heart.

" _What?_ "

Luna kept her smile up as she placed a hand on Lynn's shoulder.

"It's ok, Lynn. I forgive you for hurting Luan… I'm sure you only meant to hurt Leni anyway."

Lynn's eyebrows furrowed in disbelief, her mouth falling open.

"Besides, you should just be glad that Lily didn't get hurt…"

Lynn clutched her stomach, feeling as if a dagger is impaled her guts and twisted, making her toes curl painfully. Little tears began forming in her eyes as she stood up suddenly.

"Ok, Luna… th-thanks for making everything _so clear_ to me…"

Luna smiled warmly as Lynn left; the poor girl's tears went unnoticed by anyone.

Lynn trudged down the stairs slowly. One at a time. Step. Step.

Before her laid the living room, and she could see Lola and Lana running around, playing tag, but pausing every few seconds to collect their breaths.

The sight sickened her, driving that dagger deeper, spreading her insides apart like swinging doors.

In the kitchen she saw Lucy holding Lily, tickling the baby girl while she laughed happily.

And that sight made her eyes spring tears like a new fount.

If it wasn't for Luan's careful embrace of her baby sister, Lily wouldn't be laughing right now.

She might even be _dead._

And what did that say about Luan? It was her after all that saved Lily's life from a vicious mongrel's attacks…

Heavy, angry tears fell down her jersey shirt as she stepped onto the front porch.

It was sunny out, but she didn't care.

There was a slight breeze, but nothing dispelled the sudden chill that had settled in her bones, freezing her heart.

She took slow steps toward the shed. One at a time. Step. Step.

The world already had enough sickos who hurt people without thought.

She stepped into the shed and closed the door behind her, flicking on the single incandescent light.

The sickly yellow glow revealing all the cobwebs and grime only served to remind her of the disgusting state of her own soul.

_What kind of beast hurts a baby girl?_

Her good hand ran along the braided twines of a steel cord.

_What kind of monster am I?_

She took the metal rope in her hand and turned toward a step ladder.

_Luna was right… everyone should be thankful that Lily isn't dead because of me._

A ponytail bobbed playfully as a lone girl stealthily trailed over to the shed's window, and peeked inside.

Lynn climbed onto a workbench and hung the cord over a truss.

Luan's cheeks grinned so wildly they screamed in pain.

_I should just do Leni a favor… do my whole family a favor… and do myself in._

She wrapped the cord around her neck twice and paused, just holding the end in her good hand.

Luan bit her mouth hard enough she tasted blood.

_Come on, Lynn! Do it! Give me my Luna back!_

Heavy sobs escaped Lynn's body as she clenched her eyes shut tightly.

She lifted a single foot over the edge of the workbench…

Luan watched on with a twinkle in her eyes, her tongue darting out to lick her lips.

* * *

Luna looked out her window into the backyard, her head resting on her hand.

The sky was sunny but she didn't care.

There was a gentle breeze in the tree's leaves, but it did nothing to drive away the gnawing demons feasting on her nerves.

_Luan IS innocent… right?_

She felt cold, almost dead inside, as she imagined her perfect love holding up a knife to Lily and driving it into the baby's lively body.

Her nails dug into her stomach as her insides squirmed in agony.

_No! Don't ever imagine that again!_

She shook her head and ran a hand through her sweaty bangs. Her eyes felt heavy and dull. Her hands felt clammy and pale.

Try as she might, she couldn't think what was wrong with Leni.

Seriously, who wakes up one day and attacks her sister?

And why is Lincoln involved in it?

Her eyebrows furrowed. _Is he responsible?_

Before she could puzzle that enigma out further, she caught sight of Luan slinking over to the shed and peeking in.

Just the sight of her beautiful sister was enough to dispel the evil working its way into her heart and she hurriedly opened the window.

"Hey! Luan!"

She smiled brightly, her face blushing with affection and desire when Luan's perfect, braced smile turned towards her.

" _Luna!_ "

Her ponytail swung side to side as she bounced in place, waving her hand up at her future-lover.

Luna hung over the edge of the windowsill, staring dreamily at her dorky sister with a lovesick grin.

" _Are you feeling better?_ "

Luan's heart slammed against a wall, coming to a complete stop before it started back up again.

_Finally! Luna's noticing me now! And all it took was Leni's help._

She twirled the end of her ponytail in her finger as she blushed beautifully.

" _I am, Luna. Thanks for asking~_ "

Both stared so longingly at each other, so caught up in their own little world that they didn't notice Leni step onto the back porch.

With a raised eyebrow, the blonde-haired teen leaned against the railing and got herself a great view of Luna's blushing face and silly grin. She turned her head back toward Luan, seeing the exact same face.

She looked at Luna. Then, Luan. Then, Luna.

And the very edge of her lips on one side turned up as understanding flooded into her mind. A cloud suddenly covered the sun, casting the land in darkness as Leni's smile grew until it covered her whole face. Her bangs fell, covering her eyes from sight… but even still those beady orbs shone brightly in the shadow of a sunless sky.

She turned to look up at Luna one final time…

_It's wonderful being in love, isn't it?_

And she turned away and stepped back into the house, laughing long and deep the second the door shut behind her.

* * *

Under the cover of darkness, a lone head of brown hair bobbed in a zigzag around the house toward the front door… like a terrified mouse fleeing its demise.

In the _mouse's_ hand was a steel cord.

* * *

As the day grew on toward night, Luan found that she couldn't find that irritating rat.

_Probably slunk back into my room and rubbing her diseased body all over my sheets._

She grit her teeth sharply as she kicked her foot against the bottommost step on the staircase.

_You shouldn't have went all googly-eyed over Luna… sweet, sexy, hot, twist-your-thighs-together-and-orgasm Luna._

She sighed.

What could she do, really? Luna was her one weakness. She was her purpose. Luna was her life.

Why else would she agree to kill Lynn? She was just like Leni in that-

Luan stumbled into the wall, catching herself against the wallpaper.

_Oh my gosh…_

Leni _was_ just like her!

Luan smiled evilly, staring up the long expanse of stairs.

_Lincoln is her one weakness…_

Lincoln. That innocent white-haired boy who's been keeping to himself a lot lately.

_Defenseless. Vulnerable. Malleable. Untarnished._

Oh, don't get her wrong. She developed no intentions of killing her brother…

She took the steps one at a time.

_I'll wedge myself between Leni and her lover…_

Step.

_I'll steal his heart right out of her eager grasp…_

Step.

_And, in doing so, I'll murder the greatest rat of them all!_

Coming to a stop at Lincoln's door, she knocked on it with a big grin.

Lincoln begrudgingly answered the door with wary eyes.

"Y-yeah, Luan?"

She put on her most innocent face, twirling her ponytail around her finger.

" _Hey, Lincy~ Could I come in and play a game with you?_ "

He raised his eyebrow, looking at her in disbelief and suspicion.

"Did something happen? You never want to play video games with me…"

She leaned toward him, pushing out her miniscule breasts toward his face.

" _Can't I just spend time with you?_ "

He frowned.

" _Please~?_ "

He sighed.

"Fiinnneeee."

She smiled as she entered and sat on his bed.

Lincoln closed the door, catching sight of Leni staring out of her doorway. He smiled and waved to her before shutting the door behind him.

By herself, Leni caught his warm smile in her arms and hugged it tightly to her chest.

But soon her smile fell into a frown as she stared at his door in longing and dread.

_What do you think you're doing, Luan?_

* * *

As night fell, and all slumbered, a black-haired Lucy tiptoed across the hallway toward that dark and ominous door at the end and to the left.

She took a deep breath before she pushed it open silently.

Her breath caught in her throat when she saw that Leni was sitting against her headboard, a lamp glowing softly on the nightstand as she read in a book.

Leni looked up at her younger sister for but a moment before she turned back to her book and patted the space next to her.

Lucy skirted around the edge of the room, and came to a stop beside Leni's bed.

"You're wondering why Lynn hit Luan, ain't you?"

Lucy sighed, taking a seat beside Leni.

Leni kept her eyes trained on the book, flipping a page.

Lucy stared straight ahead at the vanity, noticing some odd dark spots on the mirror and woodwork. _Is that blood?_

"Y-yeah…" Lucy turned toward her big sister, hugging herself. "D-do you know why she got so angry?"

Leni hummed as she flipped another page. She turned her eyes onto her younger sister and smirked.

"I do."

Leni closed her book and turned to fully face her sister, a dark gleam flashing across her eyes under the lamplight.

"It all started when Luan went into your room just the other night…"


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: _The Loud House_ Copyright Nickelodeon (2017)

* * *

" _Death lies on her like an untimely frost upon the sweetest flower of all the field._ "

Leni sighed dreamily as she hugged the book to her chest.

She'd visited Lincy again last night, only for him to believe it a dream yet again. It made her heart frown. It made her come back to her room and cry softly into her pillow. It made her wish she would just die so the pain swirling inside her soul would finally go away.

It physically hurt her… every second that went by and she was not with her precious brother, her only sunshine.

She'd ended up not being able to sleep, and dark bags were beginning to form under her eyes. But that's ok. Makeup was invented for good reason; so Lincy wouldn't be exposed to her hideous form. Besides she'd have plenty of time to sleep after she'd ensured Lincy was all hers.

_My only sunshine. Mine alone…_

She set her book aside and crawled out of bed with a sleepy yawn, throwing a hand over her mouth on instinct. She turned to look at her vanity. Then, back at the book laying on her bedsheets.

And then something just _clicked_ inside her brain.

Something she was taught as a little girl.

So, forgoing her usual morning routines, she headed toward her door… only pausing long enough to slip off her panties and throw them in the corner.

With only a sheer nightgown on and a tilted smirk, Leni entered the hallway.

Her bedroom door shut with a faint _thunk_.

* * *

A foot stepped out of a doorway, swiftly followed by another. Two blue slippers greeted the morning, the air around them calm and ominous.

Golden locks swirled around a proud face as a lean body twisted to place a set of keys in a purse.

Parked along the curb, a car sat running; some nameless body sitting in the driver's seat.

Lori settled into the passenger seat and looked over to the female friend.

Who was she anyway?

Lori didn't know nor cared. All she was, her purpose in life, was to be an instrument to Lori's will. It didn't matter what her name was.

_Jenny, Anne, Mikaila…? Whatever, I'll call her Bob. That's generic enough for what she's worth. At least I think she's a she…_

Lori none-so-subtly gawked at the girl's flat chest, girlish face, and long hair.

_Alright, Bob, I'll just call you an "it"… not like your life's valuable enough to have a gender anyway._

Lori chuckled, and _Bob_ turned to look at her funnily.

Oh, how stupid all these Bobs were. This was, what, her tenth one since she moved into the apartment?

She shrugged as she handed a slip of paper with the address to _Bob_.

That's all they were to Lori… mindless bags of flesh placed on this earth for her sexual gratification.

And when she was done with them…

Lori grinned widely, the sun hiding behind a cloud at the terrible sight.

_That's when the real fun begins._

* * *

Lincoln woke up way earlier than he was used to. His tired eyes flopped open, bloodshot and dull. His scratchy throat strained to swallow the spit gathered in his mouth. He ran his hands, weak from fatigue, down his grouchy face before he glared at the door.

Those two stupid twin sisters were groaning and moaning again. Probably punched each other out because one just happened to breathe the same air as the other. Gosh, twins can be real idiots sometimes.

He trudged out of bed in just his briefs. He put on a pair of shorts and that was all he had the strength for.

His eyes were half-lidded, blank, and emotionless except for a faint glimmer of anger.

He walked to the door, gripping the handle to turn it…

It got stuck and he smacked his forehead right into the door. _Gosh!_

Stupid twins.

Stupid door.

Growling, he twisted the knob harshly, and then flung it open.

He stomped over to their door and put his hand on it.

He could hear them crying in pain, coughing, and groaning. Seriously, what did they do to each other? He gnashed his teeth in irritation. It was waaaay too early to deal with Lana and Lola. He swore they were worse than the older sisters… and they hadn't even reached puberty yet!

_Gosh, I'm too old for this garbage…_

Like an old man facing the last hours of his life, he turned the handle and swung the door open.

His mouth fell open when he saw them… each laying in her own bed.

He took a good look at them.

They were pale and stricken, shivering under their blankets, and coughing harshly.

He walked over to Lana, his shoulders slumped and his face worried. He placed a hand on her forehead.

She felt so cold, so clammy… almost lifeless.

Lana croaked pitifully. " _L-L-Linc, i-it huuurts…_ "

His heart broke into tiny pieces when her shaking hand gripped his wrist. She felt so weak. She looked so sick. I-i-it was probably just a cold, right? Y-y-yeah… s-she's just being dramatic.

He walked over to Lola and saw that her eyes were clenched shut, her mouth panting for air. It was coming in almost like a hiss.

It must be _some cold_ if it's that hard to breathe…

He gently lifted her forward and placed another pillow under her. When she sat down, her breathing came a little easier, but that pained expression never wavered.

_Oh, man, this is serious… they probably have the flu._

He hurried out of their room to find his mom… but not before making a quick stop in the bathroom to wash his hands. And his face.

* * *

Leni strolled around the backyard, humming thoughtfully to herself. She went over to the shed and stared through the window curiously.

_Didn't dad have a steel cord on that hook?_

She shrugged. Sure, it was unusual… it should have been there.

_Where's dad's sledgehammer?_

Seriously, was everything going missing these days? She'd only just taken stock of it all a couple days ago.

When you have as many rats living in your house as Leni does, you've got to be prepared for every possible situation… and that means keeping track of all your weapons and supplies.

_Ah, the chains are still in place. Good, good._

She smiled at them, imagining two particular sisters sitting in wooden chairs face to face… in the middle of the woods… baring their hearts out to each other in their final moments. Both so terrified… one so excited to share her love, the other so confused and hurt…

Leni shook her head to clear her mind of the hopeful daydream. But she couldn't stop herself from turning to glance up at Luna and Luan's bedroom window.

She grinned sideways, winking at no one in particular.

Turning back to the shed, she walked around behind it.

And there she found what she was looking for.

A peculiar weed that her parents warned her to stay away from.

Their dad normally kept everything maintained (either through himself or child slavery)… but he must've been lazy this past week.

And in just a few short days, this single, beautiful plant sprouted up from the ground.

It had a slender, splotchy stem and serrated leaves.

But the gorgeous part of the plant, its pretty white flowers, were arranged into numerous little bundles which sprouted off its branches.

Leni couldn't help but think it looked like a firework exploding… an appropriate metaphorical illustration for what she felt for her sunshine.

She brought gloves, a bag, and a pruner.

She hummed and bounced her head side to side, her rear swinging in time to an invisible beat, as she cut off each bundle and stuffed them into the bag.

She brought it up to her eyes and looked at it fondly. She ran a gloveless hand along the bare plastic as she felt her heart speed up.

_Oh, Lincy, if only you realized what you do to me~_

* * *

Lucy leaned up in bed, slowly, her arms crossed before her chest. Her gaze slowly turned to a sleeping Lynn and she frowned.

So, Luan was sneaking in here at night, blackmailing Lynn for sex…

It didn't sound right, but she'd trust something as innocent as Leni over the mischievous Luan any day of the week.

Then again, she stayed awake all night to keep watch over her sister, and no Luan showed up.

_Funny…_

But she threw it out of her mind. It didn't need to be logical. As long as Lynn's behavior was excused, as long as Lynn could continue to be the perfect big sister to an adoring, infatuated Lucy… all would be good in the world.

Besides, Leni had offered a fairly simple solution to the whole problem.

" _Just get rid of the problem, Lucy… then, there won't be any more problem… it'll just be you and Lynn forever and ever… doesn't that sound great~?"_

Yeah, it sounded amazing.

A light blush coated her pale cheeks as she got up and walked over to her sister's sleeping form.

Lynn was the image of perfection. She was so strong, so determined, so self-willed…

Compare that to boring, creepy Lucy… with no backbone, courage, or strength.

Lucy needed Lynn, and, as experience showed, Lynn needed her, too.

Lynn could fill her up with good feelings in just one little speech…

Lucy would cradle her big sister to her bosom as Lynn sobbed out her heartaches…

They were rare, but still Lucy was the only sister that Lynn relied on.

They were like each other's rocks… they made each other complete, whole, _perfect…_

Until that stupid Luan came into the picture!

She grit her teeth as she walked over to the door and gripped the handle in an angry fist.

They were perfectly fine… here in this little bubble of safety: where it had always just been Lucy and Lynn, Lynn and Lucy… two sisters that needed each other, loved each other, _perfected each other~_

She opened the door and her eyes widened considerably as a string suddenly snapped before her eyes. A series of tumblers and gears whirred to life and before she knew it a ten pound slab of steel was coming right at her face!

Steamrolling through the air at breakneck speeds, the sledgehammer grazed across her black hair, pulling it with her as the weapon cut through the air like a blunt knife.

Yet, it passed by… and returned… and passed by again. And there it sat, swinging above Lucy's head like a clock's pendulum, until it came to a stop right on top of her flattened hair.

She could feel the cold steel against her scalp, and she snorted in derision.

_Idiot. If you're gonna design a trap to kill either of two people, you have to take into account their vastly different heights._

She blew her bangs out of her face as she stepped into the quiet hallway.

The house was quiet.

She heard the backdoor open. _Hmm, someone must've just went outside._

She heard their parents' bedroom door open, followed by Lincoln's frantic speech. _Gosh, older siblings… I'm getting too old for their drama._

She turned to the bathroom and smiled crookedly when she saw it was open.

Her feet moved like a shadow upon the earth, swiftly, silently, unstoppable…

She opened the medicine cabinet and immediately zeroed in on her target.

_Dad's heart medicine… just what this situation needs._

She picked up a bottle of capsules, _nitroglycerin_ to be precise, and she ran a finger over the white cap in wonder.

Amazing, how just a few of these discreetly placed in, say, Luan and Luna's morning coffee would give them heart attacks.

Lucy grinned wickedly as she stepped before the sisters' closed bedroom door.

_So, you want to steal my Lynn's heart, do you? Well, how's about I steal yours instead… or rather, give it to the county morgue._

She stuck her tongue out at the door before she left for her own bedroom, hiding the medicine in a closed coffin.

* * *

Lori stood just a little ways in the woods near her hometown. A few hundred feet behind her, the car sat in a parking lot for a hiking trail. A few feet in front of her, _Bob_ sat on the ground, tied to a tree and gagged.

Its eyes were wide and scared, its arms thrashed against the bonds. Yet, it was in vain.

And Lori, ever the merciful mistress that she is…

Leant down to a rock and turned it over…

And there she found a tiny black spider with eight spindly legs and a blood-red hourglass on its back…

And she caught it in a cup and brought it over to her victim.

 _Bob's_ eyes cried in fright, tears running over the leather bound gag as it saw the spider crawling up the sides and sliding down in anger.

Lori looked at the spider lovingly, laying a gentle kiss against the cup.

Lori pulled its shirt out and was surprised to see a bra.

_Huh, guess Bob's a girl after all…_

Then, she brought the cup over to the gap between shirt and neck.

_Not like it matters now…_

And she tipped the angry spider into the crevice, right beside her heart.

Lori sat down in front of the shivering girl, waiting, almost panting in anticipation.

In hours… minutes… seconds… she saw the girl twitch in pain, and Lori smiled brilliantly.

She waited a whole half hour before she saw what she was looking for: the girl began having tiny spasms in her arms, her breath becoming short…

And satisfied with a job well done, she leaned over and placed a kiss on the girl's forehead before she got up and walked to the car.

Lori drove off, the girl already forgotten from her memories.

* * *

An hour later, Lynn left her room for a third morning in a row...

She was feeling dread and despair gripping her ribs like a boa's unshakeable tail. Crushing her, strangling the life out of her bones, mushing her insides into fiery pain.

Yet again, Lucy was already gone… and Lynn shuddered to think that Leni might be sneaking poison into Lucy's unprotected body at that very moment…

It was all becoming too much.

She opened her dresser drawer to pull out a fresh pair of underwear and yelped in shock when a rattrap nearly snapped her finger in two!

Jumping into the air, her heart beating a mile a minute, she stared wide-eyed at the wood and metal contraption.

But what caught her eyes' focus was the note laying on top a sports bra…

" _The only thing you're good for is dying, Lynn~"_

It was signed with pink hearts.

She felt a lump of ice settle into her stomach, her heart beating frantically against her ribcage.

She opened another drawer, and there was another rattrap… and another note.

" _I want you to die a painful, agonizing death, dear sister~"_

Third drawer, third trap, third note…

" _Rats can't steal my Luna away from me if they're rotting at the very bottom of Hell~ xoxo"_

And finally…

" _I dreamt last night that you screamed while your evil face melted off your skull, your body swimming in a pit of lava… It woke me up tingling with pleasure~"_

Lynn fell over on her side, clutching her stomach as she felt her insides pushing up through her esophagus, burning her throat the whole way.

The awful sound of retching filled her ears, over and over again. Even after she had nothing left to give, her body expunged the foul feelings against her will.

She laid on her back, staring up at the ceiling as tears flooded her eyes, falling into the matted carpet.

_Why does everyone hate me?_

_It's because you're a monster, Lynn~_

She rolled onto her side and closed her eyes tightly.

_What can I do to make them stop?_

_You know there's only one way to stop this~_

Her eyes turned to the cord laying beneath her box-spring. Out of sight, but ready for its purpose.

_I-I-I don't want t-to do i-it!_

_Are you so selfish you'd rather stay alive and risk hurting Lily again?_

Lynn threw her fist into her head, pounding her skull into the ground painfully.

_Only a monster would want to stay alive so she could finish what she started…_

She thrashed against the ground, rolling side to side, her tears wetting her shirt.

_You want to kill Lily, don't you?_

A silent scream tore from the deepest part of her soul, " _N-n-no!_ "

_Then, why won't you protect your sisters?_

She steadied herself on the ground and blinked her eyes open. In the corner of her room, there sat a used punching bag… off its hook as it awaited repairs.

_This is the only way to ensure their safety…_

She got up slowly, drunkenly, and trudged over to the corner. Her eyes were drawn to that steady hook in the ceiling…

_Do it for Lily…_

She grabbed the cord and a chair…

_Do it for Lincoln…_

She tied it to the hook…

_Do it for Lucy…_

Her thoughts turned to her beautiful roommate, and her heart ached for her deeply, as she wrapped the cord around her neck.

_I'll do this to save you Lucy. You deserve someone better than me… better than a beast…_

She stared at a blank spot on the wall, memorizing its dull texture.

_They're right… I'm only good for dying…_

* * *

Leni came back into the kitchen and threw away the gloves. She took her little bag and popped it into a deep place in the very back of the fridge. Not that she was worried that anyone might find it, mind you…

But she couldn't risk any mice munching on her precious antidote, now could she?

Leni giggled as she shut the door, and she spun around the kitchen.

Was it really only two days ago when she dug her nails into Lynn's hand so deeply it cut a tendon?

Her back shivered in ecstasy as she remember Lynn's little, feeble cries, the sight of her tears flowing down her terrified face.

She moaned as a surge of pleasure ran through her core, and she felt a bit of wetness between her thighs.

Was it really only just yesterday when she watched Lana and Lola eat all her special donuts happily, without a care in the world?

Leni paused and craned her neck to the side, placing a hand by her ear.

 _Ah,_ she could hear their tiny wails of pain like tendrils of music embracing her soul with cheery warmth.

She whimpered as another sharp twinge of arousal tore through her body.

She kinda regretted not putting on panties… but as soon as she saw Lincy sitting on the couch with a solemn expression, that instantly fluttered away like a hummingbird.

She bounced over to him with a lovesick grin, her tongue wetting her lips. Her eyes had a gleam in them and her heart raced like a cheetah surging after its prey.

" _Lincy~!_ "

She plopped onto his unsuspecting lap.

" _Oomph!_ "

She threw her arms around his neck as she pushed her silk-covered breasts against his naked chest. She moaned at the contact, and she rocked her hips along his thighs.

" _What are you doing, Leni!?_ "

She looked into his eyes long and deep, her smile crooking off to one side, her eyes delirious.

" _I'm loving my precious sunshine~_ "

She rocked her hips into his stomach, her nightgown riding up.

Lincoln groaned under her weight, putting his arms on her stomach to try to push her away.

Leni merely tightened her hold on him; his strangled gasp for air only driving her madder with heat.

His eyes widened considerably when he caught sight of golden hairs between her legs, felt a sweltering heat against his thighs… and he was ashamed to feel himself getting hard, even if it was against his will.

" _Leni, please stop!_ "

In Leni's crazed mind, she heard him beg her to keep going, to never stop… _harder, faster, deeper!_

Lincoln cried out when she pressed down on his erection suddenly and quaked above him, he felt wetness seep into his briefs and it made him disgusted.

Leni leaned back and stared longingly into his eyes.

" _I love you, Lincy~_ "

And she leaned in toward his shocked face, his eyes growing wider with every inch she closed in on him…

But right before her lips could finally claim his, there was a knock at the door.

Leni bounced onto her feet, smiling at the big wet patch her womanhood had left on her brother's bulging shorts.

She watched as Lincoln ran up to his bedroom, slamming his door shut.

She sighed dreamily, still coming down from her orgasmic high.

When she heard the knock return, she bounced over to the door…

And her heart died the instant she saw Lori's tilted grin greet her from across the threshold.

" _Hello, Leni~_ "


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: _The Loud House_ Copyright Nickelodeon (2017)

* * *

Have you ever set back and considered how one event… _one mistake_ can change your entire life?

Have you ever thought of how your choices affect those around you?

How each little accident builds up until suddenly fate descends upon your happy little world like a cascade of despair?

Right now, fate is crashing against the Loud house like a typhoon upon the mountains.

And one has to wonder… _why?_

What tiny, insignificant event transpired that sealed the fates of every sibling?

So, with those thoughts in mind, let's sit back and see how one phone call caused _the fall of Lori Loud._

* * *

_One year ago…_

It was an unassuming day. Nothing truly separated it from the other meaningless days that spread across Lori's seventeen years of life.

She was home from school along with Leni and Luna; the other siblings were likely on their way home; Lily being with their dad as he prepared dinner in the kitchen.

She was painting her nails a horrid pink color, trying to imitate the picture in an open magazine beside her feet.

Leni was at the vanity, brushing her hair exactly fifty times; humming a sweet, bouncy tune and tapping her dainty toes on the soft carpet.

The sun spilled into their room through the open curtains, lighting up the scene with its warmth.

All was perfect. All was calm and sisterly; Lori growling as her nail polish dripped onto the sheets; Leni smiling prettily into the mirror, winking at herself in pure happiness.

That is… until a soft ringtone (the wedding march) tore across the still air suddenly.

Too excited to care about the consequences, Lori flung herself over to her phone; the polish spilling all over her sheets in a splatter of glittery ooze.

" _Ahh! It's Bobby, Leni!_ "

Leni turned around in the chair, placing her arms on the back and laying her chin in them. She sighed dreamily.

" _You're so lucky, Lori~_ "

Lori smiled goofily as she picked her phone up to her face, catching the latest photo of her and her precious boo-boo bear holding each other around the waist possessively before she hit the green button.

" _Heyyy~_ "

Leni let out another goofy sigh, staring at her sister's beaming face.

_Oh, it must be such a beautiful thing to be in love. Sometimes I wish I had that…_

She frowned for only a moment before her mind returned to a happy place like a doe galloping into a fresh field.

_You'll find love someday; a perfect guy. Someone who loves you dearly, who'll cherish you even when you're wrinkly like a raisin._

She tapped a finger to her chin as she hummed thoughtfully.

_Lincoln loves me like that, doesn't he? I need a guy just like him… my little Lincy~_

She sighed as she looked into the mirror, but her heart stilled when she caught sight of Lori's face.

On the bed, the oldest sister was gripping her ankle with her nails, digging into the flesh, as she hunched over her lap. The phone was held tightly to her ear. Her face was pale and clammy, her throat constricting and expanding dryly; she gasped when she tried to swallow.

"I-I-I don't understand, Bobby…"

" _It was a meaningless fling, Lori, you've gotta believe me! But… we didn't use protection, and I… I guess I'm gonna be a dad…_ "

That icy rock slid deeper into her stomach; her head felt weightless, floaty, light… she tipped over onto her side without realizing it, clutching the phone even harder as tears sprang forth from her eyes.

" _I'm really sorry, Lori, but I have to look after my child… and the mother…_ "

Leni stood up when she saw her sister sob, a horrid sound part gasp, part whimper.

"W-w-what are you saying!?"

" _I can't see you anymore, Lori. Goodbye._ "

Lori's heart stopped, a deep chill settling in her bones.

"Wait-!"

 _Click_.

"Boo-boo bear! _No!_ "

Lori threw the phone away; it rolling harmlessly into the pinked sheets. She huddled into a ball and shivered as goosebumps erupted across her body.

 _Cold_ , she felt so unbelievably cold!

Then, she felt warmth… a delicate hand settled on her back, rubbing smooth circles along her shoulder blades. She turned over and reached out for her sister's body, clinging to her in a death grip as she wept into Leni's breasts.

Leni's eyes teared up, but she tried to stay strong for her sister. She laid down beside her, cradling Lori right by her heart, letting her heat seep into the trembling girl in her arms. Their legs got tangled, the sheets got rumpled, and Leni's perfectly-brushed hair got crumpled, but she didn't care about any of that.

She held her dear sister until Lori cried herself to sleep.

* * *

Within days, life in the Loud house had barely changed.

Sure, Lori was prone to sudden outbursts of tears… all of her gifts from Bobby were cluttering the trash can… and her special tokens she'd taken without him knowing (locks of his hair, chewed gum, a used condom from when she gave him her virginity, etc.) had been burnt.

To the casual eye, the poor girl looked like she was mourning a deep loss.

And she was.

But if one could have looked inside, they would have caught wind of the bitterness swelling inside her bosom, the pure hatred replacing the liveliness that once rested in her bones.

No, most of the changes happened inside the last bedroom on the left.

After Lori had woken up several nights in a row with a screaming fit, Leni had taken to sleeping in her sister's bed just so they could _both_ get some sleep.

And each morning, the girls would find themselves clutching each other desperately; Lori to take comfort and Leni to give it.

It wasn't until a month had passed since her breakup with Bobby that it happened…

She'd woken up in the arms of her darling sister, and she could feel Leni's sweet breaths puffing against her collarbone, her flawless cheek resting on Lori's breast.

She'd looked down and her breath caught in her throat.

For the sun was smiling on her sister, radiating its pure light onto her golden hair in such a way that it seemed ethereal.

Lori threaded her fingers in the silken locks and pushed them away from Leni's forehead.

She laid a sweet kiss to Leni's sensitive skin and delighted when her younger sister giggled sleepily. The noise made her heart _ba-bump_ and her core fill with a soft longing.

And when those perfect blue eyes blinked open, Lori found herself falling into them, swimming across the depths to her sister's soul… to a place she'd be safe forevermore.

Safe from heartache, from fear, from loss.

In a place where it was just _her_ and _Leni_.

And she smiled as she laid another kiss on her sister's forehead, blushing just a little.

Leni closed her eyes cutely as those gorgeous lips found their mark on her brow, giggling playfully.

Lori threw a leg over her sister's hip and hugged her tightly.

"You're my precious sunshine, Leni. Did you know that?"

Leni giggled as she nuzzled her nose into Lori's squishy chest.

"Don't tease me about my hair! _Ah-hahaha!_ "

Leni squirmed, a leg accidentally grinding Lori's womanhood, as her sister tickled her.

Lori suppressed her gasp just barely, but the feelings remained… boiling under the surface.

" _It's not just your hair. You make me feel alive. You're my sunshine. My only sunshine. Mine~_ "

She sun faded slowly as a cloud drifted across it lazily… darkness momentarily casting their innocent scene of play into shadows.

* * *

Weeks carried into months, and Lori found herself staring at her sister much longer than she really needed to. She began noticing little things… how her breasts jiggled when she jumped in fright because of a spider… how the faint crease of her girlhood pressed against her bikini bottoms… how her legs were long and slender, and so, _so touchable_ …

Lori was noticing a lot of things, much like a butcher surveys a side or pork… she'd spend hours dreaming, staring, _longing_ … trying to decide the best way to enjoy the platter spread out before her.

Yet, that's all it ever became.

Her heart would speed up _in lust_ , but her affection always remained with the invisible ghost of her boo-boo bear… a long lost fantasy that continually twisted the dagger wedged betwixt her ribs on a daily basis.

But, people say you need to find a way to cope, to move on…

Lori, as she was staring at her sister's naked back as she changed her shirt in the safety of their shared bedroom, decided right then and there that she had found her mode of recovery…

Leni, meanwhile, was humming softly, beautifully, unclasping her bra straps. After a long day of toiling and teenage angst, nothing felt better than to rid herself of the restraining material. Don't get her wrong, she knew a dozen ways to size her _girls_ up and made sure to have the best fit… but sometimes you've just gotta _hang loose_ , so to speak. _Heh, Luan would like that one~_

Next, she shed her pants from her body, the denim material slithering down her long calves, hooking around her ankles. She wiggled her feet with a cute chuckle until she was free of everything but her blue lacey panties. Right across their rear was an image of an adorable sun with a squinty-eyed smile and blush.

Lori couldn't help but lick her lips at the sight.

Leni reached over for an aquamarine nightgown, but froze stiffly when she felt warm breaths puff against her neck. She turned around slowly and saw Lori standing there… right behind her… severely invading her personal space.

Without a need for modesty, Leni dropped the silky garment and turned to face her sister.

Lori issued a faint growl as those succulent orbs of satiny flesh were bared right before her eyes. Two perfect spheres that could overflow the brim of her hands. Two rosy peaks that begged for her salivating mouth to suckle on until Leni's cries of pleasure drove her mind over the cliff of no return…

Leni tilted her head, tilting her weight onto one hip, the motion causing her free chest to wriggle before Lori's hungry eyes.

"Um, are you ok? You look kinda flushed…"

Lori ran her eyes from the subtle 'V' of her sister's panty-clad groin, across the plateau of quivering stomach muscles, over each little ridge of her ribcage… climbing the mountainous slopes of her generous bosom, gliding across the bobbing length of her throat, racing over the curve of her jawline, and finally settling on those two curious blue eyes…

She ran her tongue across her lips as her eyes darkened into two deep pools of azure.

" _Mine…_ "

Leni blinked her eyes slowly.

"What?"

Lori suddenly shook her head and smiled widely, stepping toward her sister with open arms.

"I-I just want a hug, dear Leni… I'm kinda feeling bad today and… and no one loves me more than _you_."

She applauded herself when she saw a very light streak of pink race across Leni's smiling cheeks. Her sister tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind an ear as her smile grew wider.

" _Really?_ " Leni looked away for a moment, vulnerable and emotional.

The sight made the panther inside Lori's stomach roar in furious, primal need.

In answer, Lori slid her arms around Leni's naked sides, her fingers brushing the sides of her perfect breasts before she locked her hands atop her spine. She shivered in ecstasy as she pulled Leni against her body. She could feel that precious warmth against her bare legs, seeping into her clothes… She laid her chin in the crook of Leni's neck and brought her lips to rest on her ear.

Leni quivered beneath the hot breaths resting against her earlobe, unconsciously bringing her own naked arms around her sister's waist, pulling them tighter together.

Lori closed her eyes as she finally… _after months of deep longing_ … let herself fall freely into the sensations of lust that'd been plaguing her broken mind.

" _You're my only sunshine, Leni~_ "

The words slithered into Leni's ear, settling into her fuzzy mind. The sensations were cascading over her faster than she could handle. Her heart was speeding up; yet, she didn't understand any of it.

She laid her cheek against Lori's hair and hummed her pleasure and affection for her best friend.

Lori felt that panther clawing its way out of her body, digging its claws into her sensitive throat as it climbed into the sunlight…

Leni nuzzled her nose against her sister's neck, sighing happily… but paused when she felt fingers pressing into her panties…

"Uh, L-Lori?"

Her older sister hummed thoughtlessly as a single finger slipped into the blue panties, a nail raking against unsullied, untouched porcelain skin.

Leni quaked in her sister's arms, feeling an unfamiliar scary _heat_ pooling in her stomach. She blinked her eyes in fear as she pulled her head away. She tried to step away, but froze solid when Lori growled loudly.

Her sister slowly pushed her hand into those offensive panties, and squeezed Leni's tight, alabaster skin.

Leni yelped and tried to push away again, her mind swimming in confusion.

Sensing her defiance, Lori suddenly bit down onto Leni's neck harshly… She tasted the bitterness of copper, but shrugged it off without remorse…

That hand curved over the lump of flesh, filling the whole palm until it was overflowing. Then, she pressed her nails into her sister's flawless body… and raked them painfully along the skin as she pulled her hand slowly out of the underwear, leaving five angry welts it their wake.

Leni's strangled cry was silenced when she felt her sister's teeth clamp harder against her neck, pain exploding behind her closed eyelids like fireworks.

Leni was shivering in her sister's arms, confused, hurting… feeling so utterly _defiled_ , but not understanding _why_ …

Lori pulled her hand up to her sister's lower back and rubbed circles into the shaking muscles. She lapped at the angry bruise forming on her sister's neck.

Leni felt that heat growing, spreading, filling her with _need_ … but for _what_ she had no idea.

"L-L-Lori… _why!?_ "

The oldest blonde leaned away and stared in awe at the tracks of wet tears running down Leni's cheeks. She admired the deep purple blemish on her neck. She could feel her fear radiating off in waves…

And for the first time in half a year she felt _alive_ … _powerful_ … _complete~_

With half-lidded eyes she clung tightly to her sister, refusing to let up even as Leni gasped for air.

" _My_ only sunshine… _Mine! Mine alone~_ "

Leni stood there, shaking, but did nothing as Lori switched to the other side of her neck and bit painfully into her skin.

In the mirror, she watched in horrified silence as her best friend, her lifelong sister, her constant companion since she was born into the world… ruined her perfect body before the whole world's watchful eyes.

The sun had hid its face long ago…

* * *

It took six months for Lori to fall victim to her lust for her sister's body and comfort.

But it would take only a week for her mind to snap beyond the boundaries of no return.

In six days, Leni had grown accustomed to suddenly being seized against her bedsheets… to being pinned against a wall… to being thrown onto the dirt… and letting her sister mark her body with her nails and her teeth wherever she wanted.

She didn't understand _why_ she was doing it… but she understood that her sister was in deep pain, despair, and confusion, and she needed Leni to be there for her.

And for six days, Leni was willing to give her sister whatever she needed…

But in the early hours before dawn on the seventh day, Leni found herself being caged in on all sides suddenly. She'd been dreaming of her siblings dressed in her cute outfits and parading in the backyard as all of her friends gushed at her fashionable prowess.

But she was thrown into wakefulness when her blanket was ripped from her cold body.

Her eyes flew open in shock, her body shivering at the influx of cool air.

She looked up and her heart seized inside her body at the sight…

Lori was leaning over her, her hands tugging at the nightgown's collar.

Leni's breath left her when she heard the garment rip; Lori continuing until it was tattered and peeled off in ragged pieces.

She thrashed against her sister, eventually knocking her off the bed…

Lori fell with an _oomph_ , and Leni jumped off the mattress, her body covered in only her smiling blue panties.

Lori stood slowly with a snarl and furious eyebrows.

Leni backed up into a corner by the closet and fell down, hiding her face in her knees.

Lori walked over to her dresser and pulled out a metal object, shiny under the glow of moonlight.

Leni quivered when she realized it was a knife… bobbing toward her as Lori's hips swung predatorily closer to her trembling body.

" _Please… don't do this to me…_ "

Lori knelt before her sister with a cold smile and gleaming eyes, her tongue wetting her upper lip as she rested the knife on Leni's pretty neck.

" _Don't you love me, Leni?_ "

Leni sobbed pitifully as the flat of the chilly blade ran across her vulnerable throat. She felt so defenseless, so hopeless. _It's only a nightmare… I'll wake up and laugh it off…_

Lori fisted her sister's long hair at her scalp and jerked her to the ground.

" _Ahh!_ " _Only a dream… only a dream…_

Lori straddled Leni's waist and settled the tip of the blade along her beating chest.

" _Just know that you made me do this…_ "

The blade pierced Leni's flesh, blood pooling between her breasts, running down her sternum…

_Only a dream… soon I'll wake up and the real Lori will be there…_

" _If only you would have given me your love…_ "

The blade slashed downward, then curved up, then back down…

The metal tip danced across her shaking chest in curly patterns, blood soaking the sheets beneath Leni's bodies; her pained gasps filling the room like a heavy fog.

_Please, God, please let it only be a dream…_

" _…then, I wouldn't have to take it!_ "

Leni arched her chest into the blade, screaming as it dug into her chest at the movement… right as Lori thrusted two fingers into her core, twisting her nails against the opening just enough to cut her sensitive skin.

Leni's breasts bounced in time with Lori's hard thrusts, her outer lips beginning to bruise and her blood dripping down her inner thighs as her sister's nails kept cutting her, raking down her bloodied walls.

Lori bent down to bite Leni's ear harshly.

" _You only exist for my pleasure, you stupid girl._ "

She turned the knuckle of her thumb against her sister's cleft, delighting in the yelp of pain released from Leni's mouth.

" _Without me, you're worthless._ "

Leni's clenched her eyes shut as her heart began speeding up, as she felt her body grow wet from something _not_ blood. Tears flooded her eyes as she realized her body was beginning to _enjoy_ the torture.

" _That's right, writhe under my hand, you sick, disgusting girl._ "

Lori leant back and set the knife aside. Taking Leni's pure white sheets, she wiped her chest clear of blood and smiled widely at her masterpiece… _Mine_ … bloody, curly writing marring the chest of an angel's body…

The sight alone made her core quake and spasm, a sudden cry of ecstasy spilling from her throat, intermingling with Leni's unwilling gasps.

" _You like me butchering your body, don't you? You like me running a knife down your flawless skin… making you hideous… making you mine!_ "

In hours, Lori had rewrote that single word, _Mine_ , across Leni's torso numerous times… the poor girl's blood had darkened and dried into a horrid crust on her one proud, fair skin.

So overloaded with pleasure, so high from the drug of lust, Lori had collapsed into the bloodied sheets with a grin on her face…

And Leni… once sweet, once innocent, once pure in every sense of the word… sat at her vanity and stared in disbelieving horror at the destruction of her virtue.

Her nails dug into the flat, polished surface of her desk for the very first time, scraping her nails against the smooth surface until her fingers bled… until faint grooves formed in the wood.

And she wept until the sun crept slowly from behind the hills…

Only to hide behind the clouds, unable to look upon such a gruesome sight…

The clouds, whose teary eyes cried out in hopeless despair, hung their heads low…

How could one insignificant event lead to all of this?

Leni turned her eyes back toward the mirror and suddenly… something _snapped_ inside her mind… and she smiled and picked up her hairbrush.

She stroked her hair exactly fifty times…


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: _The Loud House_ Copyright Nickelodeon (2017)

* * *

Alone in her cold, lonely room, a brown haired girl with one arm wrapped up in a cast stood on a chair.

Above her head there was a metal hook fastened in the ceiling.

A shiny, braided cord of steel was knotted to the hook; the other end was in the girl's only good hand.

Tears were flowing down her cheeks, into her shirt, wet and glistening.

She coughed as she tightened the metallic rope around her neck; the myriad fibers burnt a path under her jaw.

Her whole body shook, her eyes clenched tightly shut.

Through the window, the world stood still.

There was no gentle sunlight which broke through the darkening, teary sky.

There was no laughter nor the sing-songs of birds.

There was only Lynn… her sports career ruined, her emotions in turmoil, her heart dying, and a noose around her neck.

With a ragged breath and choked sob she blinked her wet eyes open and stared in regret at her sister's gothic bed.

_We'll never again be able to sleep in each other's arms…_

_We'll never again be able to soothe each other after a nightmare…_

_We'll never share our first kiss…_

_We'll never grow old together…_

Lynn shut her eyes again, her lips trembling and her cheeks shaking from the fury of her tears.

_I love you, Lucy. I hope you know that. I hope you'll never forget me… e-even when you… you m-move on and find someone else… s-some-someone better than me!_

She ran her hand along the cord one more time, patting it against her slender throat.

It felt so unnatural, so dangerous, being around her weakest point, wrapped around her, coiling around her like a snake.

Just one _tug_ , that's all it'd take to do the job.

Just one _step_ off the chair and Lucy, Lily, and everyone else would be safe.

Lynn drew in a shallow breath, almost feeling her asphyxiation coming on before she'd even acted.

In her mind's eye, she saw an older Lucy in a silky back gown standing beside an altar. In her hand was a bouquet of thirteen black roses. On her lips was a faint, smooth smile. Her bangs were parted, revealing the most beautiful blue eyes Lynn had ever seen.

She smiled warmly, coughing as tears wracked her body like a plague.

_Lynn walked slowly up the altar, her brown eyes focused solely on her sister's blues. With each passing step, she knew this is what she wanted; the person she wanted to tie herself to forevermore._

She focused on her daydream, her body slowly relaxing itself.

_They stood before each other, holding each other's hands between their bodies as an old cassette player warbled out a tune that filled the whole sanctuary with melody._

The toes on one foot slipped to the edge of the chair; her cheeks flushing beautifully.

_Lynn joined the chorus, her voice broken and teary with emotion, as she clutched her beautiful wife to her breasts._

Her other foot slipped beside it… ten toes hanging limply over the edge…

" _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you…"_

Only her heels remained on the wooden chair…

_Lynn's pink lips found the dark-glossed ones of her soulmate, her head tilting to the side, and they claimed each other's souls in an eternal dream._

" _Please don't take my sunshine away."_

Two little feet swung limply in the still air…

* * *

Dinner at the Loud table that evening was normal for all intents and purposes. The feast was spread, the siblings were obediently gathered, and the parents were cluelessly talking about nonsense and catching up after a long day.

Yet, Lucy couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong…

_Lynn isn't here._

She looked across the many faces and found two more missing.

_Where are Lola and Lana?_

She wasn't the only one to notice how strange things were turning.

As mom chatted up her prodigal daughter on her visit from college, Luna took the opportunity to steal a glance at her mortal enemy, _Leni._

Only to squint her eyes in confusion.

_What's wrong with Leni?_

In her seat, her thighs clenched tightly together; her hands moving mechanically to cut up her food and bring it to her mouth; her throat bobbing with each swallow, moving tightly against a black choker locked in place like a cage. Leni stared straight ahead, her eyes not moving left, right, down, or up.

She kept herself from shivering from sheer force of will alone, even as her older sister had a hand up her skirt and raked bloody nails along the slashed signature Lori had made in her thigh shortly after arriving.

Luan sat across the table from her mistress in evil with darkened eyes. She hadn't seen Lynn all day, so she'd felt certain that one of her traps, any of them at all, had succeeded. She casually checked off public enemy no. 1 in her mind's eye, imagining a red 'X' being pasted across Lynn's stupid face, little 'x's covering her eyes as a gangly tongue hung out of her mouth. She smirked evilly as she stared at her dear older sister, Leni. _Now, to kill the queen and save my precious Luna…_ Her half-lidded eyes turned toward her one and only brother.

Feeling isolated in his own little world of thoughts, Lincoln paid no mind to his food nor his family. His brows furrowed, his hands wringing in his lap… he couldn't understand why Leni would do that to him. He stole a quick peek at her, seeing her chew on a green bean with a blank stare. _Why, Leni?_ His back shivered as he closed his eyes, blocking off the world.

He couldn't handle the implications.

It's just not possible.

It's disgusting.

It… it couldn't be _true…_

Meanwhile, Lori was leaning toward her parents, perfectly happy to hog up all of their attention for herself.

If only mom could talk about anything that wasn't those stupid twins… _Like, seriously, mom. You have one perfect daughter literally right in front of your face, why do you care about those brats!?_

Mom's eyes were crinkled in worry.

"I'm worried, Lynn. I gave them Tylenol but they're not doing any better. Lana now has this funny yellow spot on her arm. I think it's a bruise, but I can't figure out how she got it. They've been in bed all day. They couldn't even eat lunch."

Dad patted his wife's arm comfortingly.

"Don't worry. We'll take them to Urgent Care tonight if they don't improve."

Her frown deepened.

"I'm wondering if we shouldn't take them now."

Lori rolled her eyes before turning toward Leni.

She stared at her for several long seconds, imagining her without that stupid green-blue-sea-whatever dress. And she'd be able to sit back and really enjoy herself, carving tokens of beauty into her sister's mutilated skin. _I'm thinking snowflakes. Each one unique and pure and perfect… just like me~_

And thus, things proceeded in an awkward, still air until one tiny sound carried its way down to the ears of Leni.

" _Ahhh…_ "

A subtle grin crept onto her face the very second she heard it.

_Finally, after all this time, they're ready~_

Mom turned her head soon after.

"I think I heard them, Lynn. I'm gonna check on them."

Luna watched her go, feeling a twinge of anxiety in her stomach when she remembered what Lynn had told her just yesterday.

_It can't be true… Luan would never help Leni do that… would she?_

Unwilling to think on that question, she got up and followed her mom up the steps.

Unnoticed by all, Lucy was already gone.

* * *

Lana rolled onto her side and felt something inside her body shift painfully. She didn't feel right… Sure, she was in agony and each cough burnt the lining in her throat… but she'd been paying attention to her symptoms as best as she could.

And that was the tenth bruise that she'd found on her body… only she was positive it wasn't there a minute ago.

They'd sprouted up since early morning… randomly, in odd places…

And in one of her last deep coughs, which normally spat up yucky ick onto her mattress, she'd noticed that rather than the yellow color it normally was… it was _pink_ … like her sister's dresses.

But she wasn't the main concern at the moment…

Lola hadn't made a peep or sound in ten minutes, and the silence was tearing away at Lana.

Her sister had coughed nonstop for the past hour, hacking and wheezing with every labored breath.

Until she just _stopped…_

And she looked worse than Lana… with black spots all around her neck and head… they kinda reminded Lana of blood blisters, but didn't someone need to be hurt to bleed like that?

She'd rolled over to take a look at her sister and felt a sigh of relief flooding in her pained body when she saw Lola's chest slowly rise and fall.

But that ended as soon as Lola's eyes suddenly flew open, her chest arching a foot into the air, her mouth open in a silent scream.

Lana looked on in horror as those dark spots increased, flooding areas of her cheeks and forehead with a deep, dark red. Blood dribbled from her open mouth, running faint streaks down her tiny neck and staining her pink gown.

Then, she fell limply to her bed, her head to one side and her hands resting along her sides.

Lana waited for the comforting sight of her sister's breathing chest, but it never returned.

Her eyes squinted as an itch developed behind them.

"L-Lola?"

She felt tears beading in the corner of her eyes as her sister remained motionless, ignoring her.

"S-sis?"

Lana tried to move from her bed, tried to get onto her feet, but a sharp pain in her lungs made her cough again. She saw beads of red fall onto her blanket and she squeaked out a pained gasp before she coughed again and again… each time staining her sheets a deep red.

In a minute, mom stepped into the room, followed by Luna.

And Mom gasped.

They both ran over to Lana, Luna clasping a hand over her mouth to keep herself from crying out.

Since when had blisters and bruises covered her sister from head to toe!?

Why was her sheets bloodied!?

Mom didn't fare any better as she gripped her daughter's trembling shoulders in her warm hands. Her worried eyes looked over her and then they shut as a tear fell down her cheek.

Luna's head shook when she saw her mom begin crying.

Something terrible _was_ wrong, wasn't it?

She wrapped her arms around her stomach, trying to keep herself upright as hooks tried pulling her innards deep into the earth.

_I should have been more watchful. I'm a fool._

Mom got up and walked over to her other daughter; Luna sitting down and rubbing a circle in Lana's back.

Lana's little blue eyes, so full of tears, red and puffy, looked up into Luna's worried brown eyes.

"Is my sister going to be ok?"

Luna opened her mouth to give her comfort-

But Mom sobbed loudly then.

" _L-Lola, honey, wake up…_ "

Both girls turned to look; Luna's arms wrapping instinctually around her young sister.

Mom was hunched over the girl, rubbing her hands along tiny arms.

" _P-please… you're scaring me…_ "

Mom's fingers laid beside Lola's throat and her heart suddenly froze.

"L-L-Lynn!" she yelled out shakily as she stood up, her face drained of color.

" _What!?_ "

Luna's arms shook as she cradled Lana to her breast, her tears falling into the girl's blonde hair.

Lana squeaked out her worry, " _Luna, what's wrong with Lola?_ "

Mom ran to the door, looking down the long expanse of steps to see her husband's worried face, his hands fisted at his side.

"We need an ambulance…"

His eyes shot open, turning around so fast he tripped on a long shoestring. He accidentally pushed a child out of the way as he hurried toward the phone.

"Dad, what's wrong?"

"Why's mom yelling?"

"What happened?"

His heart ached painfully, racing too fast, too hard, as he dialed three little numbers.

" _9-1-1, please state the nature of your emergency._ "

"I-i-it's my daughters, they're sick… they need an ambulance-"

* * *

"- _please come back to me, honey. Don't go…!_ "

Lana tried to push out of Luna's constricting arms.

" _Take me instead, God; just not my baby. Please, not my precious baby... Please, don't leave me..._ "

She turned her blue eyes up toward Luna's wet face.

"Where is she going, Luna? _…w-will she come b-back to me…?_ "

Luna could only hold her sister tighter to her chest, stroking her arms and back as she sobbed pitifully into the still air.

_How could you do this Luan…?_

Her soul croaked out an agonizing whimper as she hid her face in Lana's messy hair.

_Why, my love… why?_

Lana didn't understand what was happening… just that it was _bad_.

Mom wept, kneeling at Lola's bed, her head resting on her daughter's unmoving stomach.

Two men came in and pried mom off her sister, and put her on a little cot, and carried her away…

And Lana screamed in agony. _Take me, too, please! Lola! Don't leave me!_

A sudden sharp pain in her skull blinded her eyes and she fell limp into Luna's arms.

She could hear their worry.

She could feel the stick of a needle.

She could hear beeping.

And then she was in a field of green grass, running after her frilly, girly twin sister… with the biggest smiles on their faces, the brightest giggles coming out of their mouths, and pure affection shared mutually as they rolled down a hill, laughing the whole way to the very bottom.

She looked into her twin's perfect blue eyes and she grinned like she'd never done before.

And then she leant forward and laid her lips against her sister's.

_I love you, Lola._


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: _The Loud House_ Copyright Nickelodeon (2017)

* * *

A shadow crept over the stairs as a lone figure took each step slowly, silently, unrelentingly…

The pitter patter of rain pounding against the roof filled the house like a rhythmic melody.

A thick overcast had covered the sun's warming gaze; yet, Lucy didn't care as she reached the top landing. _Sunshine is overrated…_

A little darkness is good for the soul anyway.

Her hands hung limply at her sides, her dark bangs shifting from side to side as each step brought her closer to her beloved sister.

She grit her teeth painfully, fisting her hands in her black blouse.

_You better not have touched her, Luan._

A deep growl roiled from out of her stomach, her body tensing in preparation for whatever she'd see. Her tiny pale hand gripped the handle and, slowly, agonizingly slowly, it turned… the door creaking open…

The room became dark as Lucy stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

No sunlight spilled through the windowpane.

Lucy's eyes crinkled in worry as she stepped slowly toward the center of the room.

It was quiet.

Unnaturally quiet.

Like a veil had been hung around the house, encasing them in a misty fog.

Her head turned toward her bed and, not noticing anything astray, turned toward Lynn's.

She walked over on silent feet and laid her palms flat on the blanket.

Oh, how long she'd dreamt of sleeping under those sheets…

Snuggled up beside her best friend…

Would Lynn have cold feet that would wrap around her legs for warmth?

Would she cuddle with Lucy, tangling their bodies in the night, or would she stay still as a corpse?

Lucy sighed, her body still, her palms warming the blanket up.

She'd spent many nights alone in the vents… her own bed too lonely and uncomfortable to sleep in… Lynn's looking so inviting…

But she didn't know if Lynn would accept her.

She didn't know if Lynn would _love_ her… the same way that Lucy's soul longed to be with hers.

But she was willing to do whatever it took to let it happen.

Her little blue eyes turned about the room slowly, taking in everything.

Then, a sudden gasp shattered the silent dread.

Two little feet stepped limply toward the corner of the room…

Two tiny hands reached up, pausing midair; two blue eyes looked in teary horror…

"L-L-Lynn?"

Brown hair spilled over the shoulders of a body, suspended merely by a thin cord; blood dried around the neck.

Lucy normally liked pale corpses; gazing in wonder at how pasty and lifeless they could turn as they slowly deteriorated…

_But not like this!_

She fell to her knees and slammed her fists against the carpet.

Little tears dripped, dripped, dripped… slowly staining the floor.

_I've lost everything…_

She slowly looked back up at her soulmate and her heart tore asunder.

_Why should I even live anymore?_

She climbed atop the chair and pulled her beloved into her arms… so heavy, Lynn's athletic muscles refusing to help her stand.

Her mind briefly turned toward Luan and she frowned as she imagined the demoness slapping her knee in back-bent laughter.

_But what's the point in causing more death?_

Her shaking, pale hands untied the noose from her sister's slender neck, the body falling against her suddenly.

With gritted teeth she helped Lynn down, and slowly dragged her across the room.

Tears fell down her shirt in tracks, her soul aching as it heard Lynn's feet scrape across the carpet.

_No lover should ever have to experience this._

She slid a coffin out from under her bed and opened it.

A black suede lining greeted her and, though the sight would normally make her smile, it only made her cries stronger, harder, wetter…

Lucy could hear yelling and sobbing and running in the house, but she blocked it from her mind as she gently, like the arms of an angel, lifted sister's body into the box.

She folded her sister's hands over her heart…

She placed her own hands on Lynn's bloodless cheeks…

Her tears dripped onto Lynn's nose as she lowered her face down…

And she poured her soul into her very first, very last kiss with her chosen mate, feeling herself slowly die as the embrace continued in painful seconds.

When she pulled away her eyes caught sight of a little orange bottle and a flash raked across her eyes in the dark room.

Her hands trembling, she took off the lid and rolled out half the contents…

Her eyes looked at each little capsule in wonder…

Then, she turned back to her sister's corpse and her heart ached in deep despair and longing.

_Soon, I will be with you again, my love._

Her neck bent back as each little pill fell down her thin throat.

She laid herself down beside her sister in the coffin, wrapping her arms around Lynn's crusted neck, laying a leg between hers.

She looked at her sister's peaceful face and sighed… already she could feel her heartrate increasing exponentially…

She remembered one of the saddest stories she'd ever read and suddenly, she realized, it was theirs…

She was Juliet, and Lynn was her Romeo.

The outermost fringes of her vision began darkening, her mind clouding…

With her final breaths, she spoke softly to her sister.

"Yea, noise? then I'll be brief. O happy dagger! This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die."

Her body suddenly seized, her limbs locking into place around her sister as her heart spasmed and pounded against her ribs…

Her eyes became blind as her breathing stilled…

In one paralyzing second a tiny heartbeat stopped…

In the very next, her lover's heartbeat returned…

" _Lucy?_ "

* * *

Mom and dad were gone in the van.

The twins… weren't looking so good.

And Leni laughed jubilantly as she walked up the long steps to the second floor.

She wiped a playful tear from her eyes. Wow, she felt good. So _lively_ and brimming with potential.

_Unlike Lola, hehe!_

Oh, she'd followed them outside, of course. One has to ensure her mark was, in fact, _exterminated_ after all…

And that moment when one grey-haired paramedic turned toward her mom and pronounced her daughter _dead_ … and the screams and sobs that followed?

They made her spine tingle in glee!

She closed her eyes just to relish the sight of Lola's tiny body being covered by an AED, jolting into the air, and falling back down just as lifeless as before…

_Good luck, fellas. Her soul's in Hell by now~_

Her core tingled pleasurably.

She wondered if Lincoln would be up for some _sibling bonding_ time… because after that whole scene, she was aroused beyond all reason… and she _really, really, REALLY!_ needed her baby brother to cuddle with her… and _soon, please and thank you!_

Down that short hallway, two blue eyes stared from a doorway… watching in pure hatred as Leni slowly walked toward Lincoln's door.

A hand gripped the doorframe, five nails digging in like an eagle's talons.

_So, you replaced me with him, have you?_

One wide, tilted smile left the room, bobbing side to side, never wavering… as Lori crept up behind her sister's giggly body.

_Looks like I need to teach you a lesson you'll never forget!_

She pulled a small chain from her pocket and wrapped it around both wrists.

Right as Leni touched the wooden door with a tingly hand, her breath caught in her throat as cold metal was thrown around her neck, forcing her back with a choked gasp.

Lori ran her knee into her lover's waist, bending her body forward at the same time she jerked the chain down.

She nuzzled her nose into Leni's golden hair, her soul hitching its breath every time Leni coughed, choked, gasped…

_Oh, my God, this is what true love is~_

* * *

In their shared room, Luna sat atop her bed with Lily in her lap. The baby was sleeping peacefully, which was much more than Luna could manage at that moment.

Her eyes turned toward Luan, watching as she dug out props from a box.

On the ground beside her was a golden wig, some green-or-whatever nightgown, and a pair of white shades.

Luna's heart ached in despondency.

_How could you do this, Luan? I-I love you!_

Luan giggled, swaying her hips side to side…

And Luna felt disgusted with herself as her eyes followed her sister's body, enslaved to her charms.

_I'm in love with a monster…_

"Welp, see you later, Luna!"

Luna shrunk into her bed as her sister left, listening to the gentle snores of her baby sister.

_What happened to my life?_

* * *

Lori threw Leni onto her bed, sliding a knife up her dress and ripping it from collar to hem…

"Tell me, sweet sister… _whom do you love?_ "

Leni sobbed as she felt Lori's nailed rake down her scarred stomach.

Lori bent down and ran her tongue between her sister's breasts, her back curled over her and trembling.

That single word… _Mine!_ …was printed in Leni's tissue in every space, every crevice of skin. Long, white, thin writing where her body had tried to heal but could never remove the evidence of her slavery.

Lori placed a hand on top of Leni's thigh, right where she'd marked her just a few hours ago… and she squeezed, her hand coming back slick with warm, oozing blood.

_Oh Lord, how I've missed this~_

Leni's hitching breath, the smell of blood, the gashes marring creamy skin… it was all becoming too much!

Lori's thighs clamped down on her sister as her core spasmed and leaked, her fluids running down onto the freshly carved signature…

Leni's cries of pain made Lori climax a second time~

* * *

The door slowly creaked open; then closed.

A blonde haired girl crept over to the bed and watched with twinkling eyes as her brother napped soundly.

Her heart was racing, her core burning, her knees trembling…

Deep in her soul, she knew what she was doing was wrong, but not for the reasons one would expect.

Lincoln?

Yeah, he deserved every last thing coming to him.

Him and his chipped teeth and his stupid cowlicked hair.

Some kind of freak of nature.

Seriously, what child is born with snowy white hair, unless they blast snow from their hands, build ice castles, and are obsessed with letting things go?

Her eyebrows bent in fury.

Her heart was big enough for one, and one only.

_Luna~_

She would eliminate whomever she had to… use whatever body she needed… to ensure that their future was secure.

Her only regret… her only pain… was that she'd need to give up her virginity to someone other than her soulmate.

And though that burned a path straight through her soul…

As she straddled her sleeping brother, unbuttoning his jeans…

She knew it _must_ be done if Leni was to be stopped.

_I'm going to take away your soul, Leni, and obliterate your happiness…_

His proud member stood straight before her; his eyes slowly blinked open.

"L-Leni, what are you doing here?"

_Even if it kills me._

* * *

" _Tell me! Whom do you love!?_ "

Leni scrunched her eyes tighter, wet, hot tears burning her cheeks as she shook her head side to side.

Lori brought the knife down to her opening, pushing her lips apart with her hand… letting the shiny material slide inside.

Leni bit her forearm, trying to keep from squirming her hips, as she felt metal rip her apart inside.

" _Tell me… and I'll… I'll stop._ "

Leni blinked her eyes open and looked at her over her forearm.

_Would it really all be over as simple as that?_

She bit her teeth down harder, feeling her skin break, her muscles give way when Lori twisted the knife inside her body… blood pooling in her mouth.

Lori's eyes hardened, but softened them just a little.

And she removed the blade.

Leni's body trembled and shook when arms enveloped her in warmth.

Lori caressed her sister's hair lovingly, cooing in her ear.

" _There, there, little Leni… just tell me who it is and it will all be better~_ "

Leni looked into Lori's blue eyes and suddenly they were little kids again, and she'd fallen on the playground blacktop and scraped her knee… and Lori picked her up and kissed her boo-boo.

" _Silly, little Leni… just tell me where it hurts and I'll make it all better~_ "

Tears filled her eyes as Leni looked at her sister, laying a hand on her cheek.

"I-I… love, Lincy."

Darkness hung over Lori's eyes as her lids closed to mere slits.

" _Oh?_ "

Leni sighed, hiding her blushing cheeks in her sister's chest.

"Y-yeah, he… _he means everything to me, and I love him!_ "

Lori pulled away.

" _Do you now?_ "

Leni looked up and her breath caught.

Lori looked down with a nasty sneer, her hair disheveled, her shirt slipped down her arms.

" _After I'm done with you… I'm going to visit 'Lincy' and have a little… brother-sister alone time…_ "

Leni arched her back as Lori drove her nails into her wet core, blood and fluids making her entrance slick and inviting.

She pleaded with her sister, begged with her eyes and her heart and her very soul…

But Lori would have none of it.

She leaned down to Leni's ear…

" _I'm going to run my knife up his legs and carve off his scrotum and crush it underfoot…_ "

Leni shook her head violently, squirmed her hips… tried to get her sister off of her.

" _Please, anyone but my Lincy!_ "

Lori laughed heartedly in her ear, the warm breaths tickling Leni… making her more aroused to her utter shame.

" _And then, just so he can't defile the temple dedicated to my worship, I'm going to lay the blade at the base of his manhood and saw, back and forth, as each fiber rips, each vein erupts, and the mutilated organ falls between his legs…_ "

Leni moaned, disgusted at her own body's careless abandon... it now thrusting against her sister's poisonous hand, trying hard to gain its relief… even though her mind was in so much pain and torture.

" _I'll do anything, Lori… anything! Just please… not Lincy!_ "

Lori leant up and watched as Leni's back arched, her mouth falling open in a silent scream as her walls rhythmically contracted around the older girl's fingers.

" _I can hear his screams now, Leni! God, they make me so wet, ahh~!_ "

Lori's face scrunched in beautiful agony as her own untouched womanhood climaxed for a third time.

Then, she fell on her sister, her body flooded with endorphins, her mind slowly blanking and dulling… until she fell in a deep sleep.

Underneath her captor, Leni stared at the ceiling with soulless eyes.

Then, she rolled Lori over and stood up.

Her eyes turned to look at Lori…

And they darkened into black specks of pure hatred.

_No one will ever touch my Lincy ever again…_

She stepped over to her dresser and pulled out bleach, ammonia, nail polish remover, and rags, placing them all in a trash can she kept beside her desk.

_Not Lori…_

She stepped to the door, placing her hand on the knob.

_Not Luna…_

She opened it and stepped into the hallway.

_Not Luan…_

She turned and caught sight of her brother's door slightly open.

_Not Lynn…_

The closer she walked to it, the clearer she could hear moaning and grunts; the temperature of her heart dropping by the second.

_Not Lucy…_

She peeked inside and saw someone with blonde hair bouncing on her brother's lap, the smell of sex thick in the air, the sound of slick, wet thrusts filling her ears like a hated song…

_Not Lana…_

She saw the glint of a brace and her eyes squinted into slits as she left them alone… the sound of her brother's pleas for help, for his attacker to stop, for someone to rescue him… going on deaf ears.

_Not Lola…_

On her way to the basement, she stopped in the kitchen where she saw a very tiny mouse… a _Lily,_ to be precise… sucking on one of Leni's night slippers… and her eyes burnt with fire.

_And not even you, Lily._

She dropped her things on the table and opened the pantry door, pulling out a plastic bag.

"Here, why don't you suck on this instead?"

She pulled her shoe away from the toddler and slipped the bag over her head, tying it around her neck like a cute little bonnet.

Leni stepped back and watched as Lily's lungs slowly pulled a vacuum… the plastic slipping closer and closer to the baby's nostrils…

"You know, if you weren't such a hideous, disgusting, vile beast… I'd actually think you were cute…"

The bag molded over Lily's face, her cheeks slowly tinting blue as her chest heaved and thrashed for air.

Leni picked her up with a giggle.

"Oh, what can I do with you, little mouse?"

Clicking her tongue to the roof of her mouth, her eyes widened in thought.

"Oh, I know!"

And she lifted the lid from the trash can and picked Lily up as high as she could reach…

And dropped her, upside down, into the container.

The loud sound of a snapping neck was like a choir of heavenly bells to her ears~

She smiled warmly as she headed down into the basement.

_Ahh, that felt good._

She turned toward the fourth wall with half-lidded eyes and a tilted grin.

" _Who's next?_ "


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: _The Loud House_ Copyright Nickelodeon (2017); _Everything I Do (I Do For You)_ by Bryan Adams (1991); _Livin' in the Sunlight_ by Tiny Tim (1968)

* * *

A blonde haired girl hummed a low melody as she sat her bucket down beside a furnace in the basement. She stepped over to a workbench and took up a screwdriver in her hand.

" _Look into my eyes…_ "

She placed it in the screw head and began turning.

" _…and you will see…_ "

The screw fell with a bouncy clang on the concrete floor.

" _What you mean to me._ "

She pulled the cover from the fan box, her dress twirling around her hips as she spun away.

" _Just search your heart…_ "

Her baby blue eyes looked down into her bucket.

" _Search your soul…_ "

She poured out all but a tiny bit of chlorine bleach into it.

" _…and when you find me there, you'll search no more._ "

She picked up the ammonia in a shaky hand… one twist, and her life would change forever. She giggled in excitement.

" _Don't tell me it's not worth fighting for!_ "

She unscrewed the lid and dumped it all into the bleach…

" _You can't tell me it's not worth dying for!_ "

A thick, hazy, yellowish-green burst of color began roiling off the bucket, only feet away from the furnace's unsealed intake.

" _You know it's true…_ "

She hurried up the steps and closed the door behind her.

" _Everything I do…_ "

She poured her nail polish into the remaining bleach and stuffed the container with three rags, her hips swaying in time with her romantic beat as she strutted upstairs.

" _…I do it for you~_ " _My Lincy, my soulmate, my only everlasting sunshine._

* * *

Lincoln's bedroom door creaked open, spilling light upon his sleeping body.

" _Just look into your heart…_ "

The girl stepped over and placed a warm hand on his cheek, her eyes blinking mushy tears when he nuzzled into it with his cute nose.

" _…and you will find…_ "

She grabbed one of his hands and placed the palm betwixt her breasts, upon her erratic heartbeat.

"… _there's nothing there to hide._ " _I love you with all my heart, Lincy._

She laid her body down beside his and ran a hand through his gentle locks, curling his cowlick between two fingers.

" _Just take me as I am._ "

She leaned forward, her eyes falling closed and lips parting slightly, and she gave him a sweet, chaste kiss.

" _Take my life._ "

She pulled his head against her breast and laid her own atop his snowy white locks, tears pooling in her eyes as she sung in a low whisper.

" _I would give it all…_ "

She clung tightly to him, placing kisses in his hair.

" _…I would sacrifice._ "

She leaned away and took a good look at her only brother.

" _Don't tell me it's not worth fighting for…_ "

Her hands reached for a rag, her lungs hitching in breathless anxiety at what she was about to do to her lover.

" _I can't help it, there's nothing I want more…_ "

She felt his breathing slow to a weak rhythm as she held the cloth against his nose, her face covered in a frown and endless tears.

" _You know it's true…_ "

She picked up his lifeless body and carried him downstairs and out the backdoor.

" _Everything I do…_ "

She laid his body beneath a tree as the evening's shade was falling upon the earth, resting him upon a blanket and pillow.

" _I do it for you._ "

She laid one last kiss on his lips before she stood, memorizing his face like it was the last time she'd ever see it.

_My life, my soul, is forever in your hands now, Lincy._

She turned away as a single, final tear fell from her eyes.

_I love you._

Then, as her puffy eyes turned up toward Lynn's and Luna's windows, her beautiful face distorted, her smile turned manic, and another song began filling her mind like a drugged vapor.

* * *

The backdoor flew open, slamming against the wall and busting a hole in the plaster.

And Leni jumped over the threshold with her best foot forward, throwing her arms into the air, her chest bouncing happily.

With a wide smile that bared her sparkly teeth, she skipped over to the oven and put on a pot of water. Her voice echoed through the halls in a giggly falsetto:

" _Things that bother you never bother me._ "

She shimmied into the living room, shaking her curvaceous butt.

" _I'm so happy and fine! Ah ha!_ "

She threw her head back, her wild mane of pure sunlight dancing around her shoulders.

" _Livin' in the sunlight-_ "

She began running up the stairs, holding a chloroform-dripping rag in each hand.

" _Lovin' in the moonlight-_ "

She kicked down Luna's bedroom door, the rocker startling so bad on the top bunk she smacked her head against the ceiling and passed out.

" _Havin' a wonderful time!_ "

Luan blinked her tired eyes open in confusion.

"L-Leni? What are you doing?"

Leni giggled, twirling toward her sleepy sister on a ballerina's pointe, her dress spinning carelessly.

" _Haven't got a lot; I don't need a lot!_ "

"Wha- Leni! _MphmMMMm-mm-mmmm…_ "

Leni straddled her legs as she clamped the rag on Luan's mouth and nose, her heart pumped full of adrenaline as she watched her eyes slowly close.

" _Coffee's only a dime!_ "

She flung the lifeless body onto the floor and moved toward the bunk ladder.

" _Livin' in the sunlight!_ "

She wrapped the cloth around Luna's unconscious face for good measure as she put her over her shoulder and carried her down.

" _Lovin' in the moonlight!_ "

She grabbed Luan's ankles in her other arm and dragged her from the room, delighting in the sound of carpet burning off her skin, her clothes being pulled off to reveal her shameful cuts and humiliating nakedness.

" _Havin' a wonderful time!_ "

She dropped Luna on the top landing and placed her foot on the rocker's lower back. With a cute little giggle, she pushed with all her strength, singing merrily as Luna crashed down the steps in a bloodied mess.

" _Just take it from me, I'm just as free as any daughter._ "

She tugged on Luan's feet, her spine tingling as the comedienne's head fell against each and every step with a loud _crunch_.

 _"I do what I like-_ "

She leaned down and detected a pulse remaining in both of their bodies. _Ugh, these mice just won't die!_

"- _just what I like_ -"

She grabbed their ankles and drug them out the backdoor, not caring when the storm door closed and tore out a chunk of Luan's hair. She threw them both in the wagon on the back of the lawnmower.

" _-and how I love it!_ "

She bounced back into the kitchen to fetch the mower keys.

" _I'm right here to stay!_ "

She dumped the boiling water into a thermos and fetched her flower clippings, pouring them in and watching as it mixed together, turning a yellowish-green.

" _When I'm old and grey I'll be right in my prime!_ "

She saw a sickly pale haze slowly push out of the floor vent and her smile fell lopsided, her eyes curving down excitedly. _That's right, Lori, breeaaathe it in like a good girl~_

Just as she turned to leave, she heard a moan from upstairs… that sounded just like _Lynn_.

And Leni couldn't help it.

She looked down at her watch-less wrist and nodded to herself.

She had all the time in the world to enjoy this tasty morsel of vermin.

" _Livin' in the sunlight-_ "

She topped the stairs.

" _Lovin' in the moonlight-_ "

She gazed upon the red, puffy, water eyes of her younger sister as she clung hopelessly to the breast of her lover. _Oh, to be young in love… and die!_ _Ah-hahaha!_

"P-p-please, Leni… I don't know what I ever did to you, but _please_ … _save Lucy! Kill me if you want; just help her…_ "

Leni knelt down and placed a hand on Lucy's neck.

Her core quivered pleasurably. _As dead as a doornail. Mmmm… just the way I like 'em~_

Then, she turned toward Lynn and smiled toothily.

"I can't do anything…"

Her heart rejoiced in beautiful agony, her thigh becoming slick with her lubricant, when Lynn wailed, hiding her face in Lucy's neck.

"Do you love Lucy?"

Lynn turned her teary, lidded eyes toward Leni and sobbed out a " _Yes!_ "

"Hmm." She pulled out a knife and ran it through the floor. "I was going to fasten your body to the ground by impaling this through your beating heart…"

Lynn choked out a gasp, shrinking her body against her cold, dead sister.

"…but now I want you to lay here in agony, knowing you'll never see your sister again."

She leaned down and pulled Lynn's brown hair away from her ear, her hot breath sending shivers down the tiny girl's spine.

" _Make you sure take slow, deep breaths, little mouse~_ "

The door slammed shut behind Leni the very same second she heard the furnace blower kick on.

As she took the steps slowly, her arms outstretched in delirious welcome, she could see the hideous yellow gas filling the living room, invading the upstairs.

She had never felt more alive.

" _Havin' a wonderful time!_ "


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: _The Loud House_ Copyright Nickelodeon (2017)

* * *

_Beep._

Lynn Sr. walked into the sterile, white room, his hands deep in his pockets. "How is she?"

_Ba-beep._

Rita looked up from the bedside chair where she was holding her daughter's hand. "Sh-she's not, not doing so well, Lynn…"

 _Beep_.

He stepped over and looked at his little girl.

_Ba-beep._

Blisters and bruises covered her whole body, from head to toe.

_Beep._

His eyes filled with tears as he reached down and swept back her messy blonde bangs. He laid a kiss on her pale, clammy skin. "Please, Lana… _p-please come back to us._ "

_Ba-beep._

Rita looked over at her daughter, seeing her eyes blinking rapidly. "What do you think she's dreaming of?"

Lynn caressed his daughter's head, threading his fingers in her hair. "I hope it's something nice…"

_Beep._

They remained in uncomfortable silence, the air stuffy and hard to breathe. Whether it was the harsh chemicals used to clean the room, the overpowering scented spray used to freshen it, or the frail, weak pulse Lynn could feel from Lana's throat was anyone's guess.

He looked over to his wife. "What did the doctor say?"

_Ba-beep._

She coughed out a sob, wiping her eyes with a wet hand, her other firmly clasping her daughter's motionless fingers. "She had to be put on vitamin K, it… it's all they can r-really do… I-I told them…"

He looked at her expectantly. "Yeah…?"

_Beep._

"I told him… that she yelled in pain a-and grabbed her head before she fainted… and he… _h-he isn't sure she'll make it, Lynn!_ "

He looked down at his little girl's hair, seeing dark spots partially hidden by golden locks. He gulped, feeling tears gather in his eyes. "Do they know what it was?"

_Ba-beep._

" _H-he thinks it was a… a-a hemorrhage…_ "

He sat down next to his daughter, careful not to pull on the thick IV jutting out of her arm. His baby girl. So small among all the equipment, the wires and tubes; carrying things away from and to her body that he'd rather not think about… that he'd prayed he'd never have to see…

" _It… there was… brain s-swelling and he thinks she's…_ "

_Beep._

His teary eyes turned toward hers, his hand moving toward Lana's shoulder and clasping her… feeling what tiny bit of life remained in her body.

He reached his other hand over his daughter's weak body and laid it on his wife's shaking hand.

" _Sh-she's in a coma and she… m-might not wake up…_ "

_Ba-beep._

He nodded his head solemnly, focusing his eyes on Lana's face once again… memorizing everything he could about her.

Would she sleep for a few days? A few months? A few years?

His heart broke when he thought of everything she'd miss. He sobbed suddenly when he thought of his other precious baby… lying underneath a sterile, white sheet in a cold, dark room.

That's where he'd come from… They were needed to _identify_ the body… His wife wasn't strong enough. _He wasn't strong!_ But it had to be done… just seeing her lifeless, scarred face on that metal cart, looking so much like Lana was right then…

_Be-_

Their hearts ran up their throats when a loud noise exploded in their ears, a terrifying ringing. A second later another one started behind them in the hallway… and another farther down in some unknown place.

Instinctually, his eyes turned toward the heart monitor and saw a single, unmoving line.

His heart turned to ice, the blood chilling in his veins… as Rita's screams soon joined the painful beep.

A male nurse shouldered him as he flung himself to the bed; Lynn watched with soulless eyes as he planted his hands on her tiny chest and began pumping against it… her ribs depressing dangerously with each thrust.

He heard a woman yelling out repeatedly, " _COLD BLUE!_ "

He watched that man try to save his daughter's life for half a minute when a group of six men and women rushed in, in pristine white scrubs, pale green hair nets and face masks… the last was rolling a machine in…

They moved like clockwork, one removing the tube from Lana's IV and replacing it with a different, strange tube, a different, strange liquid flowing into her veins… Another relieved the nurse, pounding away at her chest… Another opened her tiny, bruised lips and slipped a plastic filter inside, and began giving her breaths of life during every break…

The sixth one pulled off two squares of metal and began rubbing them together.

" _Charging._ "

Lynn barely noticed as someone dragged his screaming wife out the door… didn't even notice when the nurse gripped his shoulders and pushed him away from the bed.

The last thing he would remember of his precious, darling angel…

" _Clear!_ "

…was her body jolting into the air as electricity surged through a deceased heart.

* * *

Darkness.

Lazy eyes blinked open, squinting as the harsh beams of sunlight bit at them painfully.

Luan groaned, her head blazing in agonizing fire. She squirmed, trying to turn over, but found she could hardly move.

Her eyes slowly opened, and the first thing she saw was trees. Trees everywhere. Moss growing up the side of that one. Vines strangling that other one. A strong oak tree with a thick canopy providing shade on-

She gasped. _Luna!_

Her sister was tied to a chair, her head lolled upon her chest. Her left arm and the hair on her head had a dark, dry crust on them, and Luan had a sneaking suspicion that it was _blood_.

She was so confused. Why was her beloved angel chained to a chair out in the middle of the woods!?

She looked down at her own body and felt another gasp rip out of her lungs.

She was chained up, too…

A sharp giggling sound erupted in the forest, causing a swarm of birds to flee for their lives.

Suddenly, everything was quiet.

No birds chirping.

No squirrels playing.

Nothing… except for the faint crunch of leaves, as that giggling returned.

" _Wakey, wakey, little mice~_ "

Something came out from behind one particularly hideous, dead tree… and it glinted under the sunlight spilling through the canopy.

Luan's throated bobbed. _A knife!_

Long, matted hair, caked in dried blood and leaves, swished out into the open, as a girl stepped out. Her nightgown slashed where her breasts were, fallen open and revealing fresh cuts and partially clotted blood. Two little feet, once perfect and snow white, were coated in dirt and wet leaves, slick from the evening dew.

Leni's smiling face and wide, manic eyes tilted from side to side as she hummed a nonsensical melody. She held the blade in one hand, touching the tip to her other hand's index finger… not even caring she was slowly drawing blood.

Luan's heart raced an erratic rhythm as she watched the deranged girl slowly strut behind her precious Luna and lean over the rocker's back.

Leni gripped her sister's cheek and lifted her bruised face up to her eyes.

Luna's eyes were slowly blinking open and the sight made her heart titillate in pure joy.

_Oh, goody! Both mice will be awake for the grand finale!_

Leni stepped around the chair and stood before Luna, she reached her free hand back and swung it through the air.

_SLAP!_

Luna's face crashed into her shoulder. She gave out a pained moan as her eyes slowly blinked open, stinging with fresh tears.

" _Stop it!_ "

Leni's delirious smile turned around slowly, her neck cricking when her shoulders failed to turn as well. Looking over her shoulder, she tilted her head away from her body and gave Luan pouty lips. " _Awww~ She doesn't wike it when I hurt her wittle Wuna…_ "

Luan growled, throwing her arms against the chains. "This wasn't a part of the plan!"

Leni turned her body around, her face not moving an inch… and she slowly walked over. She could feel Luan's hatred roiling off in thick, tense waves and it made her heart speed up. _So excited, aren't we, little mouse?_

She sat down on Luan's lap and laid the knife against her throat. "What plan are you talking about, _little mouse~?_ "

Luan's breath hitched as icy steel rested against her vulnerable neck. Her pupils dilated in fear as ice swept over her chest. She looked at her sister with pleading eyes. "We were supposed to get rid of Lynn! Then, I would have Luna all to myself, and you would have Lincoln…"

Leni laughed, throwing her head into her sister's dark hair as humor boiled out of her lungs in guffaws. "Oh, that is the funniest joke you've ever said!"

She bopped her sister on the nose with a playful finger before she suddenly jumped up and skipped over to a bag lying by a tree.

Luan's heart skipped beats when Leni pulled out scissors and string. Lots and lots of string.

Leni bounced back over and sat in the dirt in between both sisters. Not caring that bugs began crawling up her body, she began braiding a fine rope.

Luan glanced at her sister, seeing Luna's eyes barely open before they closed again with a groan. Her heart broke, but remained steadfast because her lover was still alive.

"Leni, _please. Let us go! I promise we won't touch Linc!_ "

The dazed girl giggled as her shiny scissors cut a piece of string without remorse…

Luan's throat bobbed as she imagined that string was Luna's neck, cut in two, her head falling to the earth…

" _You're such a stupid mouse~_ "

Luan kept pleading, begging… offering her own life, just so that Luna could go free.

But nothing would sway Leni as her rope grew in length… five feet now.

Luna's head slowly raised, her eyes blinking open. She moaned, squinting her eyes shut as a wave of nausea overtook her system. She took deep breaths and opened her eyes again. The sunlight was more agreeable that time around.

She saw Leni sitting on the ground before her, dirty, cut up, and laughing like she didn't have a care in the world.

A granddaddy long leg sat perched on her aquamarine shoulder…

Didn't she care at all?

_Is this even Leni?_

Farther on, she could see her sister Luan chained to a chair and her heart stopped in her throat.

_No…_

She looked down at her own chains…

_Nonono…!_

She heard Luan sob pitifully and she felt her own tears well up in her eyes. She closed her eyes in a silent prayer.

_Please, let me die, and her live._

Her eyes opened when she heard Leni stand up, holding a twenty foot long rope.

She watched with dread as Leni knelt by Luan's chair and tied the rope around the front legs.

Her heart stilled when Leni slowly turned and walked toward her.

The giggly girl pulled out a slender seafoam green bit of plastic and Luna's eyes widened when she realized it was a vibrator.

Leni knelt before her and pushed her nightshirt up to her waist. With no shame, she grabbed Luna's panties and jerked them forward.

Luna yelped when Leni whipped out her knife and cut the garment away, the slick, icy steel grazing her unprotected womanhood.

Leni looked into her sister's frightened eyes, her own unblinking, as she touched her sister's sex for the first time.

Luna bit her lip to stifle her gasp, her cheeks blushing fiercely.

Luan felt tears pouring down her cheeks, hot and heavy, as her heart fell. _It should be me on my knees at my sister's altar…_ A soul-wrenching sob broke out of her chest.

Leni hummed as she stared unblinkingly at her sister's pink core. "Hmm…" She leant back, ignoring Luna's blushing face and strange breathing. She took the vibrator and slowly carved a hole near the end with her knife.

Luan glared at her, her face beet red. Baring her teeth, she rocked her chair side to side… her heart stopping for one whole second when it felt like she was going to fall backward…

Then, Leni was in her face, holding her up by just the scruff of her shirt collar. She giggled. "I'd be careful if I were you. It's a long way to the bottom. _I bet you'd make a huuuuge splat! Hahaha!_ "

Dropping the chair back into place, Leni turned away and threaded the rope in the sex toy, knotting it. She turned back toward Luna with hazy eyes.

Luna strained to see behind Luan… but it only looked like a drop off. Her mind was racing for possibilities, her heart praying erratically. _Please, please, pl-pl-please! Take me in her place!_

Leni knelt between Luna's bruised legs and laid the toy at her sister's lips. Looking in her sister's wide, fearful eyes she thrusted with all her strength, her soul delighting when she felt her body tear, saw blood drip from her violated lips.

She let out one long, deep moan just as Luna sobbed an agonizing whimper.

Leni lifted Luna's left leg and coiled the rope around it a few times.

Stepping back she looked at Luna.

Then, Luan…

And then, Luna…

And she nodded to herself with a faint, thin-lipped smile.

She strolled back to Luan with her arms outstretched.

Luna blinked away her tears, stuffing her whimpers inside her body. "D-don't go near her…"

Leni ignored her as she grabbed the chair and pushed it slowly toward the cliff…

Luan could feel nothing as she stared at her sister's tearful, terrified eyes. Then, suddenly her world fell away when she tipped back… only to stop at the same moment she heard Luna scream.

Leni watched as that rope burnt along Luna's skin. She relished as the poor girl squeezed her thighs together to hold the rope in place, unintentionally driving the vibrator deeper inside her bleeding core.

Luna's eyes burned with heat as Leni skipped over with a giggle.

When the vibrator was turned onto its max setting, she cried out, her knees trembling… the cord gave way for a millisecond and Luan's sudden scream tore through her very soul before she put all of her energy into squeezing her thighs together again.

Leni stood back and admired her handiwork.

"Oh, Luan?"

The poor girl was crying too much to respond.

"Being in love is such a _wonderful thing, isn't it!?_ "

She turned and danced away, twirling and skipping and singing out her heart's joy…

While behind her two sisters' soft cries filled the forest like a dark melody.

* * *

A hazy puff of sickly green air puffed out of the vent like a mushroom cloud, falling back onto the floor in a splattering effect. It ran swiftly around the room, quickly filling every crevice on the ground. It crept up the four spindly legs of a bed, and fell over onto a blanket.

One button nose breathed in softly. In and out; puffing gently against the sickly air as it huddled around. Without preamble, the gas swept over her nostrils and Lori sucked in a deep breath of toxin.

Her eyes shot open the same second her lungs hacked.

Her body sat up, her throat burning with each whooping cough.

Her startled, piercing eyes looked around the room, only to see that same pale gas covering everything.

Another fit of coughing seized her body and she threw an arm up to her lips.

Her chest trembled in pain with each passing breath, every exhale turning into a anguished cough.

When her arm moved away, she saw blood spilt on it and her eyes widened.

She lifted the covers, and faintly noticed how weak she was feeling.

She put down a foot and moved her weight to it, only for it to give out on her.

She fell, the gas puffing around her.

The window. She needed to open the window so the gas could escape and she could live.

She tried crawling to it, but her body felt like lead.

She tried to look up through the fog, but she couldn't see anything. Her eyes were burning, but when she blinked she didn't notice any darkness. Only hellish vapors seared into the very membranes of her eyes.

Her hand bumped into the wall, and with all her remaining strength she lifted herself to one knee. It burnt and she could feel a hot ooze ( _Blood!?_ ) running down her leg… both of them. She could feel a painful itch on her arms.

Her body wracked with pain and coughing, her eyes unseeing, finally a single hand found the window latch…

But when she tried to grab it, her hand slid off, smearing blood in its wake.

Her head crashed into the floor, her body curling in on itself.

She could feel that gas seeping into her skin, into her bloodstream… burning her from the inside out and the outside in like hellfire.

She thought of Leni on that fateful day… when she was the only source of comfort her grieving soul had as her whole world shattered around her… and her burnt eyes released the last few tears remaining, rolling down blistered, bleeding cheeks… until the caustic gas swallowed them whole.

_You truly were… my…. m-my only sunshine…_

The gas covered her body like a fog upon the mountain, uncaring of the soul that fled its prized kill.

* * *

Lynn saw the pale gas come up from the vent, moving slowly toward her body.

Her eyes turned toward her dead sister. Then turned toward the knife stuck in the floor.

She moved her sister into the coffin and laid beside her. Her good hand grabbed the knife and laid it on her stomach.

With a sudden _fwoosh_ , the lid slammed shut on her, covering her world in darkness.

She laid a hand on her sister's cheek and leaned over to kiss her cooling lips.

Tears were falling from her eyes, landing on Lucy's cheeks.

Her hand moving on autopilot, it gripped the knife and laid the point above her heart.

She kissed her sister again, passionately, running her tongue along the corpse's lifeless lips.

The knife pressed through her shirt, drawing a bead of blood.

She laid her head on her sister's shoulder, rested her plastered arm on her sister's torso…

Staring at the dark roof of their tomb, she imagined her sister was waiting for her with open arms and warm lips and a beating heart. A golden sunshine fell around Lucy's heavenly body like a cloak or purity, and Lynn sighed in yearning.

She closed her eyes and she could hear her sister begging for her to step into her arms, rest her weary head in her bosom.

" _I'm coming, my love._ "

She pressed with all her strength, wedging the knife between two ribs.

She screamed in agony as she pressed on, feeling her skin and muscle tear asunder.

" _Come to me, Lynn,_ " Lucy beckoned.

She pressed again, feeling her ribs move, blood flowing down her chest. Her teeth gnashed together, and she felt one chip apart; her brain overloading on pain.

At long last her bones gave way, and the knife fell into her bosom as swiftly as Lynn fell into her sister's arms.

The sickly green gas trickled into the coffin, searching for any signs of life. It flowed and swished and corrupted everything it touched with fire and agony until it came across a little nose.

And it moved on to the next body…

For no life remained.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: _The Loud House_ Copyright Nickelodeon (2017)

* * *

_Lincoln shifted under his blankets. His bleary eyes turned toward the closed door of his bedroom in confusion. He could have sworn it'd opened; he'd heard socked-footsteps treading his carpet. But apparently he was still alone._

_Grinning madly, a girl with long blonde hair, shades, and a turquoise nightgown crawled over to the bedframe…_

* * *

Luna felt hot tears falling from her eyes, flooding her cheeks, as she looked at her sister… her beautiful sister, Luan… dangling over the precipice of death.

She uttered a horrible cry of anguish, as that vibrator cycled through its eleven different settings; its slick exterior was wedged as deep in her as it could go, violating her, forcing her body to arousal against its will…

Luna's watery eyes focused on that tiny stranded rope connecting the toy… winding around her leg and making angry, bloodied welts… and knotted around the front legs of Luan's chair.

Luan managed a giggle even as her heart raced and her body struggled against the chain binding her in place.

Luna frowned against her forced moans, and sobbed out pitifully, " _What's so funny about this situation, Luan!?_ "

Luan felt her own tears trickle into her nightshirt as she looked at the stricken face of her best friend. She sighed, looking away from her angel.

"Turnabout is fair play, Luna…"

* * *

_The mattress dipped and Lincoln turned around again. His eyes widened and his mouth opened up to let out a scream when he came face to face with Leni!_

_But a hand suddenly clamped down onto his face, nails pressing his cheeks into his gum-line painfully._

_Leni looked down into his eyes, and he blinked his eyes in confusion._

_Weren't Leni's eyes blue?_

_Why were they suddenly brown…?_

* * *

Luna bit back a whimper. Her thighs were aching and her heart was racing faster and faster, trying to reach a crescendo. But she fought it hard. Her fingernails dug into her hips until blood flowed down the chair legs. She held her gums between her jaws until she coughed up deep red spittle.

Luan's heart was breaking. She bit her lip. Luna didn't deserve this.

She looked her sister in the eyes, in her blood red, crying, agonized eyes… and she made up her mind right then.

"None of this is your fault, Luna…"

She would do anything to save her precious sunshine… her darling sister…

"Wh-wh-wha- _aht!_ do y-you mean?"

Luan felt her cheeks blush among the chill of impending death. Her body was reacting to Luna's moans as if their lives weren't in danger. As if they were in bed together. As if their souls were intertwined beneath the bedsheets, a mirror image of their bodies.

She resolved to herself that she would save her beloved…

"Luna… _it's mine._ "

Even if she had to die to do it.

* * *

Lynn Sr. and Rita pulled into the driveway. It'd been a few hours since night had fallen.

Lynn opened the door and stepped out into the chilly night air. It paled in comparison to the ice hanging inside his chest. He closed the door and paused. Through the window he saw his wife crying once again, and he felt more tears forming in his own eyes as well.

He walked over to the steps and began searching for the house key.

He'd let his wife enter when she felt like it…

The door opened and a light came on in the living room.

Through bleary eyes, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. But there was an eerie calm.

He stepped into the kitchen and grabbed one of the kids' juice boxes from the fridge. He needed something calming and a little sweet.

He leaned against the counter as he stabbed the straw into it, taking a slow sip. He could barely taste anything more than citric acid on his lifeless tongue.

Every part of him felt dead.

Thirty minutes.

His wife clung to his chest during that time, crying until his shirt had soaked through, as they waited for the team of doctors and nurses to come back to them with news.

But they never did.

Thirty minutes later, they saw a young male doctor exit the room and look for them.

Somehow Lynn managed to wave for his attention, and the man walked over to them.

For one brief second hope returned to him… and then he saw the other five men and women push Lana's bed out of the door… a single white sheet covering her body from head to toes.

He frowned and began crying anew when he realized she was no longer attached to any monitors or IVs or anything… just one tiny body in a bundle of sheets headed to the morgue.

He didn't need to hear the doctor's explanation or comforting words.

He needed to hug his wife and cry until he had nothing left in him.

That was an hour ago.

And now… now, he was a soulless man, leaning against the counter on aching legs, and holding an apple juice to his parched lips.

Rita slowly walked in and immediately fell into a kitchen chair.

They didn't look at each other… just staring at safe objects.

Rita looked at that dead petunia in the center of the table that she'd forgotten to replace with something new.

Lynn looked at the set of alphabet letters on the fridge that Lola and Lan- …he turned his eyes away and finished his juice.

Their lives would never be the same ever again. There'd always be that little dark hole in the back of their hearts… their nights would be full of nightmares until they died, or forgot the faces of their dead children…

Lynn was sure he'd sooner die than forget how Lana's lifeless body jolted into the air, landing in a crumpled heap… how he'd heard a cracking sound where one of her ribs had broken under the strains of CPR… how her lonely white bed entered an elevator and left them forever…

He sucked air and looked at the crumpled box in his clammy, shaking hands.

Rita looked toward him as he walked over to the trash can.

He took slow steps, trying to work his legs against their melancholy complacence. He reached the open can and held the box above it…

Rita heard a gasp and furrowed her brows. "What's wrong, Lynn?"

He fell against the counter, sliding against the edge, only catching his fall at the very last second. His eyes turned toward his wife's, scared and haunted. "Lily!"

Rita's heart skipped and she moved to the trash can.

Lynn's arms suddenly went numb and he fell to the floor. His mind was swimming. His lungs were struggling to breathe. Sweat dotted his brow.

Rita screamed, reaching for her baby girl.

Lynn looked up and saw his precious angel's head dangling to the side… as if the bones in her neck had been severed… and his body instinctually tried to gasp, only he couldn't.

"R-Rita…"

She clutched her dead child to her chest and wailed to the sky, her husband's pleas unheard.

The numbness in his arms was spreading, the sweating moving to his cheeks and neck… every breath was getting harder than the last.

Then, his heart began skipping beats…

"Rita!"

She finally turned toward him, unable to make out his shape from the abundance of tears in her eyes.

Lynn tried to sit up, but ended up falling onto his back. The palpitations were increasing…

"M-my h-heart…"

Rita held Lily tightly to her bosom; she was already cold… but those two words threw a fresh bucket of ice over her head.

"Wh-where is it!?"

He tried to talk, but couldn't gain enough air to make any more words. So, he did what he could and pointed upwards.

Rita nodded to herself and took off on shaky legs. She ran up the steps as quick as she could.

Why weren't any of the kids making noise!?

She couldn't stop to ponder it… couldn't pause to open a single door…

She burst into the bathroom and threw open the medicine cabinet. She grabbed each bottle, and dropped it when she realized it wasn't what she needed. She went through all of them in seconds and her heart stopped.

She knelt on the ground and looked through them a second time…

A third time…

A fourth time…

She ran back down the stairs and sobbed above her husband. His eyes were closed, his chest barely moving, and she had no idea what to do…

She pulled out her phone and called for an ambulance, and then sat beside him.

Lynn listened to the sounds of his wife sobbing and he opened his eyes just enough to see Lily's hanging head.

Rita watched as he lifted a hand toward Lily's head… it made it halfway before it fell limply to his chest.

She burst into a new wave of tears as she laid her angel on her husband's lap and put her hands to his chest.

" _Please, Lynn!_ "

She pressed strongly, surely into his ribs.

" _I need you!_ "

That same team of paramedics arrived in ten minutes and relieved her of duty.

Before the sun rose with morning's dawn, Lynn Sr., Rita's precious ray of sunshine, was declared dead.

And Rita knew in her heart that she had died with him.

* * *

_Linc blinked his eyes dumbly as a strong hand pulled his wrists above his head, another pulling his bottoms down his legs._

_He tried yelling for help, but her lips latched onto his._

_He tried to bump her off, squirm under her, knock her over… but he only succeeded in causing her to moan above him. It made him blush; his eyes widening in realization._

_A second later, he felt a warm slickness engulf his erection and he closed his eyes to keep the tears at bay._

_Why was Leni doing this to him? …to her little Lincy?_

* * *

Luna turned her eyes away from her sister.

"Don't you see, Luna? I had to! For us!"

Luna bit her tongue to keep from screaming out her pain.

"Leni was keeping us apart and Linc was the only way to hurt her!"

Luna's heart stopped. She turned to look at her, and she saw Luan's eyes widen at the hurt and anger in Luna's eyes. She yelled her rage into the night sky before subsiding into sobbing coughs and forced moans.

"P-please, look at me, Luna…"

Luna looked her square in the eyes. Her heart was already dead, but she still felt a new twinge of pain as three little words ripped out from her very soul. " _I hate you._ "

Luan cried out. "N-n-no, Luna! Y-you don't mean that!" She shook against her chains… the motion causing the vibrator to slip an inch inside Luna's vagina. " _Please, tell me you love me!_ "

* * *

_Lincoln cried out into Leni's lips when he felt a fist punch his shoulder, over and over again. A bruise was forming, and then blood was dripping. That heat was pushing him over the edge and he was so scared. He didn't know what was happening… what was coming… and everything, every pleading word he uttered into her mouth did nothing but anger her._

_He heard her cry out, and he felt a mind-numbing tightness around his length, and then two hands were gripping his neck… he could barely breathe…_

_"You stole my Luna from me! You stole my virginity! And now you're putting your filth inside me!"_

_As darkness tinged the edges of his vision, his gasping brain recognized what he thought was Luan's voice…_

_"I just want you to die! I want all of you to die!"_

* * *

Luna stared down into a pile of dead leaves. She could see two little ants… one was walking away in a straight, unyielding line… the other was standing on its back legs, its front arms waving toward its friend… begging for it to return…

"You'd rape your own brother… in the name of love?" Luna whispered.

Luan chuckled darkly.

"I'd do _anything_ for your love, sis."

Luna's eyes flashed.

"The twins…?"

Luan felt herself blushing at the intense glare her sister was giving her. Yeah, it felt _terrible_ for your lover to be mad at you… but it was also a little _exciting._

"Leni asked me to add some _sugar_ to that batch of cookies… and I did."

Luan shrugged her shoulders and looked up at an empty squirrel's nest.

"…and if some rat poison happened to fall into the batch, well…"

She turned her eyes back toward Luna's hurt face.

"…that's two less people standing in between me and my beloved."

Luna clenched her eyes shut as more tears fell. She felt a tightness in her chest, an ache in her stomach. She felt acidic bile bubble up into her mouth and she held it back with her teeth. When she opened her eyes… it was to the sight of Luan blushing and rubbing her thighs together obscenely.

" _What is wrong with you!?_ "

Luan bit her lip as she felt her orgasm approaching.

" _I'm just a girl in love~_ "

* * *

"Lincy~"

Lincoln opened his eyes but couldn't see anything.

"I'm right here, little brother~"

In the darkness, he could barely make out the hair of his older sister, Leni. Faint tendrils of moonlight were reflecting off her golden her like a precious gem.

He hurriedly backed away from her… but he soon found himself pinned against a tree…

Leni sat on his lap, and that's when Lincoln realized they were both naked. Her flesh felt warm against his. He could feel a familiar heat from her crotch boiling against the heat in his own.

"Please, don't do this again! Stop, Leni! _Please…_ "

Leni frowned.

_Luan's stupid mousey head should fall any second now, splitting open against a rock and spilling its guts into the river._

Her face gave him a warm smile and she held up a thermos lid, full of a warm tea. Little wisps of steam trailed off into the night sky like baby snakes.

Lincoln gulped when she wordlessly poured him a cup and pushed it to his lips.

She tilted her head, her eyes turning hazed and lusty. "Please, drink this for me. That's all I want, Lincy."

He nodded his head and took a sip, gagging it down. "Gosh, that's _awful!_ "

Leni bit her lip and frowned. "I'm sorry, my love…"

 _My love? What is that supposed to mean?_ An image of his nightmare from last night appeared in his mind and he stilled… but that couldn't have happened, right? Leni got confused on the couch… didn't know what she was doing… and that haunted him in his sleep… _right!?_

She pushed it against his lips again, more urgently. "Please, _for me?_ "

He took a calming breath to settle his nerves. Her voice was comforting and soothing to his nerves. It helped remind him of the sister who always treated him like the most special boy in the whole universe. She was always there for him… always loved him… always doted on him… Lincy meant the world to her, and Leni, he realized, meant the world to him, too.

Looking into her warm, loving eyes, he took another sip. It tasted terrible, but he continued until it was all gone.

He watched as she poured another cup and drank it in front of his eyes. Some fell onto her chin and he wiped it away with a finger, causing her to giggle.

He smiled. "What? I couldn't leave a mess on your angelic face."

She leaned into him, curling into his chest. "Do you really think I look like an angel?"

He put a hand in her hair as the two siblings looked into the night sky, seeing a billion stars smiling back at them.

"I've always thought you were the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen."

She turned her head and planted a kiss on his jaw.

"I love you, Lincy."

He turned and planted a kiss in her shining, moonlit hair.

"I love you, too, Leni."

As they gazed at the endless stars, they saw a bright light zip across the sky in a blur.

Leni gasped. "I wish we'd never have to leave each other ever again!"

Lincy chuckled, the sound a sweet melody to his sister's ears. "I never intended to leave your side, Leni."

She leaned away and looked at him; their twinkling eyes finding their mates. "Do you mean that?"

He smiled warmly, letting a single hand rest on her cheek. "Of course, you're the _sunshine of my life_."

She drifted closer to him, her eyes glancing at his lips for a second before returning to his eyes. " _You're mine, too._ "

Lincoln didn't know if he was still dreaming or if his life suddenly made no sense anymore. He'd spurned her advances earlier because it was his innocent sister… undefiled and pure… and she must surely have been clueless to what she was doing to him, the reactions she was pulling from his body.

But now… now, as their lips embraced each other in something sweet, and pure, and caring; the very expression of their relationship since his birth and she'd first laid eyes on his pink body… he knew there was nowhere else his heart belonged than in her loving hands.

When they pulled apart he felt a tremor run through his body. A spasm twitched along his eye, and he looked at his sister in worry.

She smiled, feeling a twitch in her arms. "Don't worry, Lincy. It'll go away soon."

He wasn't convinced. "What's happening to us?"

She pulled him onto the sheet on the ground and cradled his twitching face to her naked breasts. She twined her legs with his and wrapped her arms around him. "Purest love is flooding our bodies, Lincy. Just hold onto me until it passes."

He held tightly to her. "I'll never let go."

Leni kissed him, flicking his cowlick until she lost movement in her arm. "Neither will I."

In minutes, their bodies fell into writhing seizures.

Soon, a pair of souls drifted away, still holding onto each other tightly, dancing under the still gaze of a silent moon.

* * *

Luna clenched her eyes tight, trying to contain her escalating whimpers.

Luan did nothing to hold back her unabashed moans, uttering out all of her lewd desires to her shocked sister.

" _Please, all I need is for you to love me!_ "

Luna turned her head away, feeling her blood nearly reach the boiling point.

" _It's just two words, sis!_ "

Luna couldn't handle it anymore.

" _I will never love you!_ "

She let her thighs go slack, the vibrator ripping from her core, the rope burning a hot trail of blood around her leg…

Luan's cry of anguish and hurt was swallowed up by a scream as her chair tipped backward…

In the very second she let go, Luna's heart turned in her chest and she tried to grab the rope with her knees, but it was too late.

For one eternal moment, her horrified eyes locked with Luan's betrayed ones.

" _Nooo!_ "

She watched as Luan's crying frown slipped over the edge… she heard her screams drift in the air until they suddenly ceased.

She thrashed against her binds until she fell onto the ground… she felt the chair break, but she didn't move…

The icy chill of stainless metal around her arms felt warm compared to the death washing over her heart.

" _I killed her…_ "

She looked at the twin trails Leni had made when she dragged the chair over there…

" _I should have died instead of her…_ "

She walked over to the edge, feeling colder than she'd ever felt in her life…

" _But now she's gone…_ "

She couldn't see anything. No trace of blood or wood… or Luan… in the raging rush of waters down below.

She knelt down and let her tears flow down her cheeks.

" _M-my only sunshine… a-and I… I killed her!_ "


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: _The Loud House_ Copyright Nickelodeon (2017)

* * *

Two bright lights appeared over the horizon.

The sound of an engine hummed in the distance.

Luna hobbled to the edge of the asphalt, one leg crusted in blackened blood. Her arms were clutched around his nightshirt, trying to keep warmth inside her body.

Her soulless eyes watched as hazards blinked on and off and a man and woman jumped out and ran over to her.

Darkness tinged the edges of her vision and she felt so very weak.

She fell forward; the woman putting her arms out to catch her.

Her back laying in the warm lap of a stranger, her hazy eyes struggled to keep from the void.

Luna saw the man frowning and she used what little energy she had left to plead with him.

"M-my L-Luan… my s-sister… _dead…_ "

* * *

When Luna next awoke, there was a dull pain in her arm. Something funny was itching her nose. The air smelt sterile and unnatural.

But what she most cared about was this tiny warmth: fingers resting upon her open hand.

She tried to squeeze her hand around that heat, to trap it and absorb it into her dead soul… but she couldn't do more than twitch.

" _L-Luna…?_ " came the whispered voice of her mother.

Luna felt relief flood over her, and she knew if she could manage it she'd be smiling. It was comforting to hear her voice. It was something to focus on. To forget… about other things.

She couldn't open her eyes. She couldn't open her mouth to speak.

So, she twitched her fingers again and nodded her head almost imperceptibly.

Those warm fingers threaded in hers and gave her a squeeze in response, and Luna hummed inside with contentment.

" _Luna, my baby…_ "

She felt another hand push through her short, brown hair, and she purred inside.

A pair of lips planted themselves on her forehead...

" _I love you, little Luney._ "

…and Luna fell back into a perfect, dreamless sleep, her body surrounded in the comfort of a mother's love.

* * *

Rita watched over her daughter for a day and a half; barely sleeping, not eating, and never leaving the room (except for an adjoining bathroom).

During those first few hours, she'd messaged Lori and Leni to let them know what was going on. The ambulance came quickly for their father and Lily, and she made sure she was on it when it left.

It was twilight… she could forgive ignoring messages until morning.

But by the afternoon, her paranoia was clawing at her skin, and with four family members already dead she was unwilling to take any chances…

After twenty-four hours of watching over her precious daughter she received a call from a RWPD detective.

After hanging up her cell phone, she turned her weeping eyes toward Luna…

Her only child still left in this world.

* * *

After three long days in the hospital, Luna was finally cleared to leave. She'd only been awake for a day and a half. Only that morning her mom had finally broke the news to her.

Her whole family had died.

Just a few days ago, everyone's biggest worry was Leni.

But literally overnight, one by one they had fallen.

Luna shivered as they entered the car.

Life was bad enough when she was still processing the death of Luan!

But after her brief coma, she'd woken up as an only sibling…

Her mom was all she had left in this world; she was all her mom had left, too.

Have you ever imagined what it was like for a terminal patient to leave hidden letters all around the house, only to be found after their death?

When they'd finally returned home after a long, silent drive, they were bombarded by memories.

Linc's comic was still laying on the couch; Lynn's cleats were by the door; dad's apron hung over the oven's handle; one of Lucy's poems was clipped to the fridge…

Luna's eyes immediately spotted one of Luan's hair scrunchies on the stair steps, and she clutched it to her breast like a treasure of infinite worth.

If _this_ is what living feels like without your family… without your lover… then, she wished she'd never have woken up…

* * *

With nine bodies in their possession, they had no choice but to order cremations.

Rangers had searched for days for Luan's body. But the only trace they could find of that brutal scene were Luna's cut panties… and Leni's blood.

They had no funeral.

They had no memorial.

They kept nine jars and a yellow scrunchie lined up in a perfect row on the entertainment center in the living room.

Every day, Luna would find herself sitting cross-legged in front of those objects.

On some days she would put the scrunchie on her wrist and wear it like a bracelet.

On some nights Rita would hold her husband's jar against her bosom and she'd tell him, over and over and over, that she loved him, until her tears put her to sleep.

Both refused to enter their own rooms.

Luna could no longer walk up the steps.

Rita could no longer enter the kitchen.

They helped each other as well as they could, but it wasn't enough.

They'd finally taken to sleeping in each other's arms, in the floor of the living room, but it couldn't replace what their heart ached for.

Finally, one day, Luna saw her parents' bedroom door open and she tilted her head.

It hadn't been open since the night the ambulance came for Lana and Lola; dad had needed to fetch his wallet and keys.

As Luna approached the door, she tried to remember how long they'd been in this state, but she couldn't.

It could have been a week… it could have been a month… it could have been longer.

Rita looked up from her spot on the floor. She watched as Luna came and knelt down beside her.

Luna's eyes widened when she saw her mom lift a pistol from a metal case.

Rita took out one bullet and put it in the magazine. She looked over at Luna and saw that same deep yearning, that same agonizing torture gnawing at her flesh, that she knew was reflected in her own…

So, she grabbed a second bullet and loaded it as well…

* * *

Luna walked through a graveyard in the early hours of morning.

Behind her, the sun had yet to peak over the hills.

Her tired feet walked down a worn path toward a single stone.

There were roses carved into the fine granite. The years dated from 2012 to 2016.

Luna knelt and put her hand beside the name of her sister, Lisa, and she sighed.

Lisa would have known what to do. She would have been able to fix everything.

And Luan would still be alive.

* * *

Rita assembled the nine jars in the shade of a tree, and sat down in their midst.

Luna stood beside her mother, the scrunchie wrapped around her wrist.

Rita pulled the handgun from her jacket and looked at it in the grey morning light.

Luna's heart skipped a beat when she watched her mother's shaky hand level the barrel at her temple.

Rita trembled and began crying. She looked up to the sky and put her finger on the trigger.

" _L-L-Lynn… my darling h-husband…_ "

She clenched her eyes shut; Luna watched and held her breath.

" _I-I-I… I… I can't do it…_ "

She dropped the gun to her lap and covered her teary eyes with her hands.

Luna sat down beside her and rubbed circles into her back.

" _It'll be ok, mommy._ "

Rita sniffled and turned to look at her daughter's puffy, pink face.

She picked the gun up and put it in her daughter's hand.

" _Can you be strong for mommy?_ "

Luna's heart broke, her face marred by a heavy frown, but she nodded.

" _I put two in, darling…_ "

Luna sobbed.

" _I know, mommy._ "

Rita laid down in the grass and placed her husband's jar on her chest, and wrapped her arms around it.

" _Can you send me to your daddy? Can you send me to my husband?_ "

Luna closed her crying eyes, but nodded; the weight of the gun felt heavy in her tired hand.

Rita rolled onto her stomach.

" _Place the barrel at the base of my neck, honey._ "

She shivered when she felt cold steel touch the ridge of her spine.

" _Now, pull the trigger whenever you're ready._ "

Luna nodded even though her mother couldn't see it.

" _I'm coming to be with you soon, my love. I'm coming to be with you and our children~_ "

Luna tried to take deep breaths but the rush of emotions was unbearable. She put her finger on the trigger, feeling her limbs trembling violently.

" _I love you, mommy._ "

Rita hugged the jar tightly to her breast.

" _Mommy loves you, too._ "

The blast of a gunshot frightened every bird in the vicinity; their flighty departure filling the sky like a dark cloud.

Luna rolled onto her back and cried herself dry, screaming until her voice was hoarse.

Her eyes fell upon the golden scrunchie around her wrist and she placed a watery kiss to the flimsy fabric.

Her lips came back with a single brown hair… her sister's… and a new wave of tears fell from her eyes as she clutched that last piece of Luan's body to her chest.

She looked to the hills and saw the outline of a golden sun peeking over the trees through her watery gaze. In her mind, she saw it as Luan's aura.

She opened her arms to the sunshine pouring down upon her quivering body.

" _Open your arms for me, my love. Take me home…_ "

Luna closed her eyes and saw her beautiful, laughing sister in a robe of golden sunlight, her arms open and her smile pure.

" _Come to me, Luna. Come home to your precious sunshine._ "

Luna walked towards her sister… opening her mouth to utter one final song.

" _Y-y-you're are m-my sunshine, m-my only sun-shine._ "

A sweaty hand gripped a steel handle…

" _You m-make me-me happy when skies… are grey…_ "

The icy sting of heartless metal pressed firmly against the skin on her temple…

" _Y-you'll never know, d-dear, how much I love you…_ "

One slender finger rested upon the trigger…

" _P-please don't take… my sunshine… away._ "

…and squeezed.

* * *

**Deaths:**

Lola, Chapter 10, cerebral hemorrhage by rat poisoning.

Lucy, Chapter 11, hypotension-shock by nitroglycerin overdose.

Lily, Chapter 11, severed spinal cord.

Lana, Chapter 13, cardiac arrest from brain swelling, by rat poisoning.

Lori, Chapter 13, chlorine gas poisoning.

Lynn, Chapter 13, blood loss by suicide.

Lynn Sr., Chapter 14, cardiac arrest from sudden heart attack.

Lincoln and Leni, Chapter 14, cicutoxin poisoning from water hemlock tea.

Luan, Chapter 14, major trauma from fall.

Lisa, pre-story, unknown cause of death: probably experiment-related.

Rita, Chapter 15, severed spinal cord by gunshot.

Luna, Chapter 15, suicide by gunshot.


End file.
